
Class E, 5 ! ^ 
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The NATION'S Birthday 



Of this large paper edition only 
1,000 copies arc printed. 



lj'Ii ica.5(7. i-' 



The NATION'S Birthday 



CHICAGO'S 



Centennial Celebration 



OF 



WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION 



APRIL 30, 1889 




CHICAGO 

MDCCCLXXXIX 



CHICAGO: 

Slason Thompson & Co., Printsrs. 

1890. 






PREFACE. 



The committee intrusted with the publication of a volume as 
a souvenir of Chicago's celebration of the centennial anniversary 
of the inauguration of George Washington as President of the 
United States, and the beginning of constitutional government in 
America, have completed their task. They now have the honor 
to offer it, through the General Executive Committee, to the pub- 
lic. They claim for it no literary merit save that which it owes 
to the distinguished citizens of the republic who lent their assi.st- 
ance to the celebration. It is a compilation. Out of the hun- 
dreds of earnest, thoughtful sermons that were preached on the 
occasion, out of the hundreds of eloquent orations that were 
delivered, they have chosen such as in their judgment would best 
inculcate the lessons which it was the purpose of the celebration 
to convey. They have been compelled by the limitations of a 
single volume to omit many addresses that were in every way 
worthy of preservation, equally worthy, perhaps, with some that 
are to be found in its pages. With such an embarrassment of 
riches the work of selection was a difficult one, and it will be 
remarkable if they have made no mistakes. 

It is the hope of the committee that this souvenir volume 
may obtain wide circulation. They believe that its pages contain 
patriotic germs which should sink deep into the minds and hearts 
of the young, and hereafter bear fruit that will be for the glorj- 
of the republic. If it shall do no more than impress the truth 
that a Nation, not a mere aggregation of states, was inaugurated 



VI. PRF.FACF.. 

a century ago, it will have accomplished much. If it shall create 
a desire for a closer knowledge of Washington, Jefferson, Madi- 
son, Franklin, Hamilton and all those grand patriots who were 
present at the birth of the Nation, the study of American history 
— a study too much neglected in our public schools — will do 
the rest. 

In conclusion, the committee have only to express the thanks 
due to those who have kindly aided in the preparation of the 
volume, and to record the pleasant nature of the associations 
which this labor brought about. It is peculiarly gratifying that 
from the inception of the plan of the celebration to the comple- 
tion of the book, there was a unanimity of sentiment and a 
cordiality of relations that have made the recollection of the 
work like a sweet savor to those who ])articipated in it. 



CONTENTS. 



I. 

FACE 

The Preparatory Work 3 



11. 

Services in the Churches— By J. H. Barrows, D. D 25 

Sermons and Addresses — 

By F. A. Noble, D. D 40 

By Prof. David Swing ^ 50 

By Rev. J. P. Brushinghani 5S 

By H. W. Thomas, D. D 62 

By J. H. McVicker 6q 

By Rev. W. C. Dewitt 72 

By Epliraim Banning 77 

By C. C. Bonney 82 

By Rt.-Rev. C. E. Cheney, D. D 88 

By Rev. H. W. Bolton 92 

By Rev. Lee M. Heilman 95 

in. 

Exercises IN THE Schools— By the Hon. William Vocke loi 

North Division High School 107 

South Division High School 108 

West Division High School 109 

Keith School 109 

Raymond School 112 



VIII CONTKNTS. 

EXERCISKS IN' THK. SCHOOLS — 

Headley School 113 

Skinner School 114 

Tilden School. 116 

Motley School 117 

Rogers School 117 

Anderson School 1 17 

Kinzie School 118 

Pearson Street School 118 

Pickard School 118 

Oak Street School iig 

Cottage Grove School 119 

Grant School 120 

Huron Street School 120 

Jones School 121 

Burr School 121 

Central Park School 122 

Oakley School 123 

Garfield School 1 23 

Healy School 123 

Lincoln School 1 24 

Sheridan School 124 

Froebel School 125 

Vedder Street School 126 

Throop School 126 

Moseley School 127 

Franklin School 127 

McCIellan School 12S 

Newberry School 130 

Wells School 130 

Ogden School 1 30 

Scammon School 131 

Hoyne School 131 

Brown School 13J 

Douglas School 1 34 

Dore School 1 36 



CONTENTS. IX. 

EXKRCISES IN THK SCHOOLS — 

Holden School 136 

Harrison School 136 

Brainard School 137 

Longland School 138 

Carpenter School 138 

Haven School 139 

Humboldt Park School I3g 

Hayes School 139 

LaSalle School 140 

King School 140 

Irving School 143 

Calumet Avenue School 143 

Armour Street School 144 

Von Humboldt School 145 

Sheldon School 145 

Kosciusko School 146 

Polk Street School 146 

Russell School 146 

Hoffman Avenue School 146 

Wicker Park School 146 

Clark School 146 

Washington School 147 

Marquette School 147 

Law ndale School 147 

Cook County Normal School 147 

Industrial School (or Girls 148 

Normal Training School 148 

German Theological Seminary i:j8 

Cathedral of the Holy Name 149 

St Margaret's School 149 

Academy of the Sacred Heart 149 

St. Columbia's School 149 

St. Aloysius School 149 

Holy Angels' Academy 150 

Home for the Friendless 150 



X. CONTENTS. 

Exercises in the Schools — 

St. Xavier's Academy 150 

St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum 151 

Free Kindergarten 151 

Industrial School 151 

Dearborn Academy 151 

Sacred Heart Convent 151 

St. Pius' Girls School 152 

St. Francis' School 152 

Schobinger and Grant's Harvard School 152 

Fick and Schult's School 153 

IV. 

The Mass Meetings 157 

Centenni.\l Addresses — 

By F. W. Gunsaulus, D. D i6g 

By Rev. S. J. McPherson 176 

By Hon. John M. Thurston 181 

By Hon. Joseph Filer 187 

By Hon. J. R. Doolittle iSq 

By Hon. C. C. Albertson 193 

By Hon. Richard Prcndergatt 195 

By Bishop Spalding 203 

By E. G. Hirsch, D. D 209 

By Hon. L. D. Thoraan 213 

By J. H. Barrows, D. D 217 

By Hon. E. A. Otis 231 

By Hon. W. E. Mason 234 

By Hon. J. J.l. Langston . . 236 

By Hon. Peter Hendrickson 240 

By Hon. Carter H. Harrison .... 248 

By Prof. A. C. Geyer 249 

V. 

The Banquet — Toasts anu RESfONSiis 253 

By Hon. John M. Harlan 253 

By Bishop Spalding 259 



CONTENTS. xi. 

The Banquet— Toasts and Responses— 

By Hon. L. D. Thoman ^bi 

By Hon. Robert T. Lincoln 261 

By Hon. C. C. Albertson 267 

By Hon. J. S. Runnells 2^0 

By Hon. J. M. Langston 27; 

By Hon. J. M. Thurston 3yg 



VI. 
The Pyrotechnicai, Display 



285 



VII. 

The Loan Exhibition— By F. M. Bristol, D.D 280 

Appendix ,,. 

3'/ 



THE PREPARATORY WORK 



Chicago's Centennial Celebration 



OF 



Washington's Inauguration 

April 30, 1889 



THE PREPARATORY WORK 

At the annual iTieetin<jof the Union League Club of Chicago, 
Jan. 22, 1889, the following resolutions were unanimously 
adopted: 

Resolved, That this club should celebrate, in a manner befit- 
ting so great an occasion, the looth Anniversary of the inaugural 
year of the United States of America, as established under and by 
virtue of our existing Constitution, an event second in importance 
to no other of a political nature in the history of the world. 

Resolved, That a committee be appointed by the President, 
consisting of the Committee of Political Action and ten other 
members of the club, to consider the propriety of a public observ- 
ance of the event under the auspices of this club or otherwise, and 
that this joint committee be empowered to make all needed 
arrangements in case such public observance be deemed expe- 
dient. 

This was the first step in the work which culminated in the 
celebration of the Washington Centennial throughout the West 
and South — almost throughout the nation. 

The committee of seventeen was appointed. It held two 
meetings, at the second of which. Feb. 2, it adopted the follow- 
ing resolution: 

Resolved, That we celebrate the looth Anniversary of the In- 
auguration of the United States of America, as established under 



4 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

and by virtue of our existing constitution, by organizing as many 
gatherings as can be arranged for satisfactorily, of Americans, 
whether native or foreign born, who are devoted to the Constitu- 
tion of the United States and to Republican institutions — to lib- 
erty regulated by law. 

At this meeting the committee organized by the appointment 
of Mr. S. W. Allerton, chairman, and Mr. E. F. Cragin, secretary. 
For a month the subject of a suitable demonstration on April 30 
was quietly but earnestly discussed. It seemed advisable to the 
committee that the matter should be brought more prominently 
before the people, and in a measure divested of the semblance of 
a private enterprise of the Union League Club. Something in 
the nature of a public proclamation was deemed the best means 
of accomplishing this, and on Feb. 5 the following address was 
issued: 

The 30th of April, A. D., 17S9, in Federal Hall, in the city of 
New York, the inauguration of the government of the United 
States of America under the Constitution formed in convention 
and adopted in that body at Philadelphia, Sept. 17, 1787, took 
place. Both houses of Congress there assembled and entered 
upon their duties. George Washington took the oath of ofiice as 
the first President, and this nation was born and entered upon its 
constitutional existence. 

The event is to be celebrated in the city of New York the 30th 
day of April next, the Centennial Anniversary of the birth of the 
Nation. The independence of the colonies had been proclaimed in 
Philadelphia, July 4, 1776. The confederate union of the States 
had been agreed to in Philadelphia, July 9, 1778, but the country 
was acephalous in its government until the adoption of the Consti- 
tution and the occurrence of the great event which it is now 
proposed to celebrate. 

It has been customary to celebrate the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence as the central idea of our early manhood, and it has been 
good for us to be reminded that we are free and independent of 
foreign control; that when we attained our majority we threw off 
the paternal yoke and assumed individual responsibility. 

But this was not enough. It required only four years' experi- 
ence to show us that the country needed a National Constitution, 
with an efficient executive head, if we would be a united body, 
securing order and good government at home and protection 
from abroad. The accomplishment of this greatly needed end was 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 5 

reached on the memorial day of this nation which we now propose 
to celebrate. As great an event as the Declaration of Independence, 
it was surpassed by the affirmative act which made us a constitu- 
tional government and united people. 

It is to be hoped that the celebration of this momentous and 
far-reaching event, the most important in the history of modern 
times, will be as generally observed as was formerly the day of the 
Declaration of Independence. It is an event which made the whole 
American people a united body by virtue of that great charter of 
the United States, whose opening words are: 

"We, the people of the United States, in order to have a more 
perfect union, establish justice, secure domestic tranquility, pro- 
vide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and 
secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do 
ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of 
America." 

To many citizens it has seemed peculiarly appropriate and desir- 
able that the citizens of Chicago, who are mostly immigrants 
from the older states or foreign countries, should avail themselves 
of this occasion to unitedly reiterate their declarations of attach- 
ment to the principles of our National Constitution and devotion 
to the maintenance of our Republican institutions. 

The undersigned have been requested to act as a committee 
and take the initiative in calling attention to this subject. They 
have accepted this duty, and though assuming no authority beyond 
that of all other citizens, they deferentially suggest that it would be an 
appropriate and perhaps the most feasible way of celebrating the 
constitutional birth of this great nation for all our citizens, what- 
ever may have been the land of their birth, or their religious beliefs, 
or the societies or associations to which they belong or organiza- 
tions with which they may be connected, to meet in their respec- 
tive places of association the 30th of April next, and testify in such 
manner as shall seem to them appropriate, their appreciation of 
American national liberty, regulated by written law, and their 
thankfulness for the national unity and protection which have been 
secured and maintained under the Constitution of the United 
States. 

It is not the intention of the committee to make any sugges- 
tions as to the peculiar action of such assemblies beyond inviting 
general cooperation and unity in rendering thanks to our Heavenly 
Father for the blessings of our constitutional free government and 
national unity. 

The wisdom vouchsafed to the framers of our Constitution has 



6 C///C.4C0S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

been exemplified in the growth and prosperity of the nation and 
the permanence of the provisions of our organic law. Few changes 
have been made in the essential features of the Constitution, and 
under it, from a handful of people, the population of the United 
States has so expanded that we now count 60,000,000, a larger 
number of civilized inhabitants than ever existed in any other 
united, self-governing nation. 

Having assumed the initiative, we invite the cooperation of all 
our fellow citizens, whether of native or foreign birth, that there 
may be in this city the day of the celebration of the hundredth 
year of our existence as a nation, a unanimous expression of patri- 
otic union and devotion to constitutional government, free institu- 
tions, and liberty regulated by law. 

The press of Chicago, daily and weekly, secular and religious, 
and of all languages, are requested to give this address a place in 
their columns, and call public attention to the same. 

A. C. BARTLETT, ROBERT E. JENKINS, 

H. N. HIGGINBOTHAM, C. L. HUTCHINSON, 

TAMES W. ELLSWORTH, HENRY S. BOUTELL, 

SAMUEL W. ALLERTON, FRANKLIN H. HEAD, 

RICHARD S. TUTHILL, JOHN A. ROCHE, 

GEORGE SCHNEIDER, MAX A. MEYER, 

J. McGregor adams, julius s. grinnell, 

EDWARD F. CRAGIN. J. Y. SCAMMON, 

EDSON G. KEITH, 

Committee of Union League on Centennial Celebration, 
April 30, 1889. 

The address tluis issued had an immediate effect. A public 
demonstration became not only the popular wish but the popu- 
lar demand. And out of the suggestions and advice which were 
volunteered to the committee there gradually developed the 
grand conception that the Chicago celebration should be not a 
merely local affair, but the nucleus of a patriotic and fitting com- 
memoration of the day throughout the land. With this idea 
uppermost, the committee of seventeen proceeded with its 
work. 

To extend the interest in the movement and enlist the co- 
operation of representative citizens of foreign birth or extraction, 
the membership of the committee was increased to fifty. The 
first meeting of the full committee — subsequently known as the 
General Executive Committee — was held on the e\'cnin.T of 



OP' irAS/HNGTON'S I.VAUGUJiATIO^r. 7 

Feb. II, on which occasion a banquet was tendered to tlic mem- 
bers by the Union League Club. After supper the Cliairmaii, 
Mr. S. W. Allcrton, deUvered the following address: 

Gentlemen : You have been invited here this evening that 
we might ask you to join us in celebrating the birth of a nation, 
the beginning of constitutional government on the American conti- 
nent, one hundred years ago. We wish particularly to secure the 
cooperation of citizens of foreign birth. We wish you to share our 
enthusiasm upon that occasion, that there may be awakened in you, 
if it be not already awake, that patriotic sentiment which will 
move you to go to your own people and say to them: " It is time 
for us to become Americans;" which will inspire you to teach your 
children the American patriot's love for the Stars and Stripes, the 
emblem of liberty. 

Inspired by the immortal words of Patrick Henry, "Give me 
liberty or give me death," our fathers went to battle, and in the 
ensuing ordeal of bloodshed and hardship and privation, men were 
developed with ability to form a government that gives to all men, 
under a written Constitution, equal rights with reciprocal duties. 

Can an independent, free-thinking, liberty-loving people do less 
than honor the names of Washington, Hamilton, Franklin, Jeffer- 
son, and all the great and patriotic men of that time who did so 
much for humanity? Their love of liberty has made America the 
home of the down-trodden and oppressed of the whole world. 
Their wisdom has given every man whose foot touches the soil of 
the American republic a chance to develop and use God's greatest 
gift— his brain. In the history of civilization no people have 
advanced so rapidly in life's great work as the American people. 
In the last hundred years, no people have made the progress that 
we have made. We surpass all other nations in the invention of 
labor-saving machines, which lighten the burdens of men and help 
them to advance in all the conditions of life. In America, any 
man with industry, economy, morality, temperance, and a love of 
justice, can gain a home, an independence, and become such a man 
as God intended him to be. 

Yet, under this great and wise Constitution the century has not 
been one of uninterrupted prosperity and harmony. Thirty years 
ago there w^re men who, in the vain hope of maintaining property 
rights in their fellow-men, sought to divide the Union. They 
failed, and to-day the most enlightened among them thank God for 
their failure. They are to-day as loyal to the Constitution and the 
nation as their brothers who frustrated their mad design. 



8 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

Let us extend our hearts and hands to our brothers in every 
state in the Union for eternal peace and good will, that we may- 
stand as one man to sustain and perpetuate the Constitution 
bequeathed to us by our fathers. So long as time shall last, may 
the Stars and Stripes wave over a united, free and independent 
people. 

Mr. Allerton was followed by Mr. H. S. Boutell. Then the 
meeting lost all trace of formality. One after another the 
guests made short, patriotic speeches. The enthusiasm was un- 
bounded, and when the meeting closed, all felt that the 30th 
of April offered, perhaps, a grander opportunity than ever 
before for imparting to the people, and especially to the young, a 
lesson in patriotism that would live long in memory. The re- 
port of the committee of seventeen was gladly accepted, and 
the initiatory steps that had been taken were heartily approved. 
The meeting adjourned until Feb. 20. 

From this time on the work was carried on persistently and 
systematically, and, it may be added, absolutely without friction. 
It is really remarkable that in a body where every shade of polit- 
ical opinion, every religious denomination, and almost every 
nationality was represented, the harmony should have been so 
perfect, so uninterrupted, from first to last; but where all were 
filled to overflowing with the spirit of patriotism, there was no 
room for discord. The general outlines of the plan of celebration 
were agreed upon at one of the earliest meetings. The aim was 
to secure the participation of all, old and young, native and 
foreign-born, in commemorative exercises which would tend to 
develop interest in national life and quicken patriotic impulses. 
The programme, therefore, was to be substantially as follows: 

9 a. m. — Service of praise and thanksgiving in all the churches. 

II a. in. — Commemorative exercises in all the public, private, 
and parochial schools. 

3 p. m. — Mass-meetings and patriotic addresses in the large 
halls in the central portions of the city. 

9 p. m. — Fire-works. 

On the subject of the mass-meetings there was a very interest- 
ing debate. It was by some thought desirable that halls be se- 
cured in the outlying portions of the city and meetings held for the 
benefit of foreign-born citizens, at which they might be addressed 
in their native tongues. But this idea met with little favor and 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 9 

was by none more strenuously opposed than by foreign-born 
members of the committee. " What we want," said one of these, 
" is to gather together under one roof all patriotic Americans, 
whether they be of native growth or of foreign importation. We 
want the Germans and Poles, French and Scandinavians, Itahans, 
Spaniards and Russians to rub shoulders with the descendants of 
the pilgrim fathers, to listen with them to addresses in the 
language of their adopted country, and to sing with them in that 
languare the national anthems of America," and under the influ- 
ence of this sentiment it was forthwith resolved that there should 
be one public meeting in the Exposition Building, and that if it 
should become necessary for the accommodation of the multitude 
to hold other meetings, they should be in halls located as near as 
possible to that building so that the crowds might mingle. This 
resolution was carried out to the letter. 

The character of the celebration having been determined, the 
General Executive Committee appointed a number of sub-com- 
mittees and assigned them their work. Each chairman was 
authorized to add to his committee as many members outside of 
the General Executive Committee as seemed necessary or desir- 
able for the accomplishment of the purpose in view, so that 
shortly after the work was begun there were several hundred 
laborers in the field. It is not possible, in the narrow limits of 
a single volume, to set forth in detail the work that was done, 
nor to fully explain the method of its accomplishment, but 
some conception of its scope may be conveyed by the titles of 
the sub-committees. These were: 

Finance. School Celebration. 

Religious Services. Centennial Souvenir for Children. 

Speakers. Pyrotechnic Display. 

Halls. Loan Exhibition. 

Organization. Programme and Arrangements. 

Decorations, Mottoes, Etc. Outside Decorations. 

Music. Charitable Institutions. 

Messages and Resolutions. Reception of Invited Guests. 

Audience. Press. 

Suspension of Business. Souvenir Volume. 

General Observance of the Day in the Northwest. 

The dutv of the Finance Committee was, first, to collect 



10 CH/C.IGO'S CENTEXXIAL CELEBRATIOX 

inoney for the expenses of the celebration, and, second, to super- 
vise its expenditure. It was estimated that about $25,000 would 
be needed to carry out tlie plans of the General Executive Com- 
mittee, and the original intention was to secure the money from 
a few wealthy and generous men. After one or two large sub- 
scriptions had been solicited and obtained, however, the plan 
was abandoned for the wiser one of securing small contributions 
from the body of the people, and thereby cementing their inter- 
est in the celebration. The labor thus necessitated was enor- 
mous, but it was accomplished by the appointment of sub-commit- 
tees, representing almost every trade and indu.stry in the city. 
The efforts were eminently successful. More money was sub- 
scribed than was needed for the celebration. Much of the 
money came in sums of $1. Clerks, laborers, book-keepers, even 
school children, contributed their mites. Over $1,500 came 
in small sums from the retail grocery trade alone. These small 
subscriptions counted up slowly and multiplied the work of 
collection, but long before the day of celebration the grand 
total of $25,667.09 was in the hands of the treasurer. The 
efTect was just what it was intended to produce. Every man 
who gave a dollar felt a personal interest in the celebra- 
tion. He became a part of it, a shareholder in it. The 
amount contributed did not signify. The donor of a dollar bill 
was placed on precisely the same footing with the giver of 
$100. There was no class of citizens who could, by virtue of 
their large subscriptions, claim privileges from which their poorer 
fellow-citizens were excluded. There was nothing to arouse 
jealousy, nothing to suggest social distinctions. Chicago feels 
that in the demonstration April 30, 1889, she set an example 
worthy, both on principle and in results, of being followed on all 
subsequent occasions of a similar nature. 

One of the most important sub-committees, though it appears 
last upon the list, was that on "General Observance of the Day 
in the Northwest." To this sub-committee was confided the 
duty of arousing the whole country, save that portion which was 
assumed to be tributary to New York, to a realizing sense of the 
national and patriotic significance of the Centennial. As a 
preliminary step, the following address was prepared and circu- 
lated throughout the Western States and Territories: 



OF WASHINGTON'S IS-AUGURATIOX. 11 

1789-LET ALL CELEBRATE-1889. 

THK Cl'NTF.NNIAI, OF OuR 

NATION'S BIRTH-DAY! 



DECLARED BY CONGRESS A NATIONAL HOLIDAY. 



At the instance of the General Executive Committee, the following brief 
addresses have been prepared and published for circu- 
lation through the Northwest. 

TO TME PEOPLE OF THE IfOBTBiWEST: 

The purpose of this forthcoming celebration is to commemorate 
the first inauguration of George Washington as President on the 
adoption of our National Constitution, of which the 30th day of 
April, 1889, will be the looth anniversary. 

Notwithstanding the previous Declaration of Independence, the 
real birth of the United States, as a n.\tion, dates from April 
30, 1789, when the inauguration of the first President under the 
newly ratified and matchless Constitution, formally ushered the 
United States into the family of nations. 

New York and Chicago — the one the commercial metropolis of 
the East, the other of the West — have adopted measures for the 
proper observance of the memorable day. 

In Chicago it is proposed that there shall be a suspension of 
business, and an assembling of citizens in all the churches at as 
early an hour as 9 o'clock, for religious services of thanksgiving 
and praise to God, after the manner of our forefathers, to be fol- 
lowed by the gathering together in all of the public schools of their 
hundred thousand, or more, scholars for appropriate e.xercises, 
addresses, and national music, and for the presentation to all the 
pupils of medals as souvenirs of the patriotic occasion. Later in 
the day the adult citizens to assemble in the largest halls to listen 
to distinguished orators; and, finally, the exhibition in the evening 
of fire-works to conclude the patriotic programme. 

The title of the "Committee on General Observance of the 
Day" throughout the Northwest indicates its purpose, and this 



12 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

committee is charged witli the duty of publishing a brief outline of 
the proposed celebration, not to dictate to other communities any 
special form or order of celebration, but to propose an interchange 
of views — to receive as well as to give suggestions if desired. It 
were needless to multiply words in extending a cordial and frater- 
nal invitation to our fellow-countrymen to appropriately celebrate 
this red-letter day in our national history; to join, not in boastful- 
ness, but in devout thankfulness to the Ruler of Nations for the 
prescience of our forefathers in devising that Constitution which for 
one hundred years has challenged the ever-increasing admiration 
of mankind, and also for blessing the new-born nation with its first 
President in the person of Washington, now the world's accepted 
type of the loftiest manhood and most exalted patriotism. 

Not alone in cities, but also in the hamlet and on the farm, let 
us raise our flags and our voices in honor of the priceless heritage 
of our Constitution and our Washington. And, above all, let our 
children — the young to whose charge the destiny of the nation is 
soon to be confided, be imbued with the intensest love of country, 
and their loyalty to its proud memories and beloved institutions be 
so enshrined in their hearts as to insure the perpetuity of the 
republic. Thomas B. Bryan, Chairman. 

Chicago, March 13, 1889. 

An address, prepared by the Clergymen's Committee, was also 
scattered broadcast. It was as follows : 

Address of Chicago Clergy to their Brother Ministers In the Northwest. 

Within an hour of high noon, on the thirtieth day of April, in 
the year of our Lord 1789, General George Washington was 
inaugurated President of the United States of America. Seven 
years of war had ended in the independence of the Colonies. The 
Constitution had been adopted by the national convention assem- 
bled in Philadelphia, and had been duly ratified. Congress had 
convened in New York to induct into office the first President. 
With the inauguration of George Washington began that wonder- 
ful national life, that drama of civil liberty and organized power 
which is soon to reach the end of its first hundred years. History 
makes no record of a greater century. It is, therefore, fitting that 
every citizen should mark this approaching Centennial and for the 
moment stand with head uncovered as though on ground made 
holy by sacred memories and inspiring hopes. 

It is expected that over each state house and schoolhouse in the 
republic the nation's flag will wave. Patriotic orators will recall 
the trials and victories of the commonwealth. 



OF WASHING TON'S INAUGURATION. 13 

We, the ministers of religion, must not permit the temples of 
God to be silent when all else is eloquent. Sanctuaries, the largest 
and the lowliest, in city or country, should offer worship to the 
King of Kings. 

When General Washington was approaching his inauguration 
he requested all reverent citizens to assemble in their churches, 
and, with praise and prayer, to intercede for the nation and him- 
self, as he was assuming his great trust. At the hour of 9 o'clock 
in the morning the people complied with the devout request, and 
the various churches in the city of New York were filled with 
intensely earnest worshipers. 

The Inaugural Address, pronounced on that impressive occa- 
sion, contained these words: 

" It would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official 
act my fervent supplication to that Almighty Being who rules over 
the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose 
providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benedic- 
tion may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of 
the United States a government instituted by themselves for these 
essential purposes, and may enable every instrument employed in 
its administration to execute with success the functions allotted to 
his charge. In tendering this homage to the Great Author of 
every public and private good, I assure myself that it expresses 
your sentiments not less than my own, nor those of my fellow- 
citizens at large less than either. No people can be bound to 
acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the 
affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every 
step by which they have advanced to the character of an independ- 
ent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of 
providential agency." 

From the ceremony of the inauguration the first President, 
attended by the national Congress and high officials, proceeded to 
a house of worship and invoked for the young nation the presence 
and blessing of God. 

Have we fallen away from the religion of our fathers ? Has not 
the God they worshiped been with this country in all the long 
journey since that inauguration day ? Has He not been a light in 
darkness, a power in weakness ? 

We, a committee appointed in the name of the churches of 
Chicago to send forth a word of greeting and of request, do hereby 
invite all congregations and their pastors, wheresoever these frater- 
nal words may go, to assemble at 9 o'clock in the morning of April 
30th next, each congregation in its own place of worship, and 



14 chjcaco's cextennial celebration 

according to its own form, and emulating their example, express 
the gratitude to God and the trust in Him which filled the hearts of 
our fathers on that great morning one hundred years ago. May it 
thus be made most manifest that religious faith and gratitude have 
grown with the growth of the Union. 

Chicago, March 14, 1889. Simon J. McPherson, Chairman. 

A month later the following was issued : 

THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

IT BEING impossible to answer separately all the letters from 
the towns and villages of the West, the Committee on General 
Centennial Day Observance issue herewith the patriotic songs 
called for, and this circular reply to the request for " further hints, 
suggestions, and interchange of views as to the object of the cele- 
bration." 

In the circulars already issued there will be found an outline of 
the Chicago programme, which, doubtless, will commend itself in 
some features, according to the available means and resources of 
different localities. As in those circulars stated, the observance 
need not be expensive, but it should be universal and hearty. The 
committee return thanks for the suggestions and information fur- 
nished by numerous correspondents, and are gratified at the lively 
interest manifested by the villages in farming communities. The 
great object of the commemoration is not display, but to awaken 
the people to a realizing sense of the blessings they enjoy under 
free institutions, resulting so largelj- from the adoption of our 
matchless Constitution. The nation which at its birth numbered 
fewer souls than constitute the present population of Illinois, now 
enters with far more millions than states upon a second cycle of a 
hundred years. At the threshold let us pause, neither boastful 
in the retrospect nor presuming, except in prayer and hope, to 
measure that destiny which is present only to the eye and ken of 
Omniscience. 

The Centennial day's observance should serve to kindle anew 
the fires of patriotism in the hearts of the people. 

That the result may be practically beneficial, it is important that 
speakers should not only unfold the Constitution before their hear- 
ers, but X\\-aX patriotism itself be defined, as a comprehensive term 
embracing most of the duties incident to our relation to society as 
well as to government; for the love of our country is inseparable 
from the love of our countrymen, and both impose upon us the 
duty of so ordering our lives and conducting our affairs as will best 
conduce to the general welfare. 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 15 

All the inhabitants of this rich and heaven-favored region should 
unite in regarding this Centennial year as an era of their lives as 
well as of their country, and invoking patriotism for their guidance, 
should ask what are her requirements, not only for great and 
heroic actions, but also for consistent and exemplary citizenship. 

In that behalf it behooves us to place the highest estimate upon 
the right of suffrage, and to cast our votes uniformly in favor of 
honest government and reputable candidates, with our best judg- 
ment, in the light that is vouchsafed to us. In a republic, indi- 
vidual ballots are the warp and woof of liberty. Let us see to it 
that we conscientiously weave that fabric as a priceless heritage for 
our children. 

Are not these among the behests of good citizenship : That we 
should strive to throttle corruption whenever and wherever it pre- 
sents itself — that in gratitude for God's bounty to us, we should vie 
with each other in good work — that we should bestow due care 
upon our farms and our dwellings, introducing into the former the 
most approved culture, and into the latter fireside amenities, home 
affections and sunshine, into both neatness, order, and economy; 
that we should be considerate and humane toward all in our ser- 
vice; that we should promote the diffusion of knowledge; that we 
should practice and inculcate in others industry, sobriety, and 
godliness; that we should gain and maintain the mastery over 
ourselves, in times of political excitement as in common life, 
permitting no cyclone of passion to lay waste our friendships; that 
we chase away all shadows of discontent, and inscribing anew on 
our hearts the Golden Rule, stifle within us the spirit of detraction, 
conscientiously heeding the injunction : "Be just, and fear not; let 
all the ends thou aimest at be thy Country's, thy God's, and 
Truth's." TH0M.4S B. Bryan. Chairman. 

Chicago, April 22, 1889. 

The programme for the Chicago mass meetings was made a 
part of the above address, with the hope that it might be 
adopted, wholly or in part, wherever the day was to be cele- 
brated. 

The responses from every direction, and especially from the 
West and South, tlirough which the addresses were circulated by 
the tens of thousands, were most satisfactory. The very general 
observance of the day was highly gratifj^ing, and in conducing to 
the patriotic purposes desired, compensated the Committee on 
General Obser\'ancc for their arduous labors, and for the time 
and effort expended. It is a source of unfeigned regret that. 



16 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

notwithstanding the copious and highly entertaining reports re- 
ceived from a vast number of places, of their appropriate and 
most commendable observance of the day, the production of 
them in this volume seems impossible, as the matter would ex- 
ceed all practicable bounds, and any preference shown to some, 
with the suppression of others, perhaps equally meritorious, 
would appear, and in fact would be, an unjustifiable and invidi- 
ous discrimination. 

At the suggestion of the General Executive Committee, the 
Governor of the State and the Mayor of the city issued procla- 
mations requesting that all places of business be closed on April 
30, and that the people assemble in their several places of wor- 
ship, as did the forefathers one hundred years ago, to hold such 
religious services of thanksgiving, praise, and prayer as might 
seem appropriate in view of what God had done for our nation 
in the past century, and to implore that He would continue 
to lead and guide us. This request was generally complied with. 

The sub-committee on outside decoration performed its part 
so well that almost every building in the city, the humblest dwell- 
ings included, displayed flags and other appropriate devices. 

The members of the General Executive Committee, and in- 
deed all who were engaged in the preliminaiy work of the cele- 
bration, were deeply impressed with the importance of conveying 
to the minds and hearts of the children of the republic the signifi- 
cance of the Centennial, and various plans were suggested with 
this object in view. Upon the recommendation of the City and 
County Boards of Education, and several heads of private and 
parochial schools, whose advice had been solicited, it was arranged 
to hold commemorative exercises in every schoolhouse in Cook 
County. As an additional means to the same end, it was decided 
to present a souvenir medal to every pupil. The sub-committee 
appointed to take charge of this branch of the work was author- 
ized to procure 190,000 medals, but almost before the design was 
completed the order was increased to 250,000. This was done for 
the purpose of supplying the smaller towns that had adopted the 
Chicago plan of celebration and could obtain the medals in no 
other way. From the eagerness with which the little ones sought 
the medals, and the jealous care with which they ha\'e guarded 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 17 

them since the Centennial day, it is believed that no better plan 
could have been devised to fix in their memories the lessons con- 
tained in the school exercises. It is also worthy of note that the 
children of larger growth — the men and women who contributed 
to defray the expenses of the celebration — were as eager as the 
little ones to obtain the souvenirs, and they still cherish them as 
sacredly. However, the supply was more than equal to the 
demand, and at the last meeting of the General Executive Com- 
mittee the sub-committee was directed to divide the remaining 
medals among the orphan asylums of the Northwestern States. 

The experience of the various sub-committees that had charge 
of the arrangements for the mass-meetings was peculiarly illus- 
trative of the rapid growth of the interest in the celebration. 
The Committee on Halls was appointed in February and directed 
to provide seats for 15,000 people. The Exposition Building, 
Battery D Armory, and the Cavalry Armory were secured, 
whereupon the Committee on Speakers was directed to find ora- 
tors, the Committee on Music to find bandsand choruses, and 
the Committee on Decorations to obtain fiags and mottoes for 
three meetings. The applications for admission tickets were so 
numerous, however, that by March i the Hall Committee was 
ordered to provide for 35,000 people, and the plans of the other 
committees had to be modified accordingly. Later the estimate 
was raised to 50,000 and finally to 100,000. In the end, although 
every available hall in the neighborhood of the Exposition 
Building was secured, two large tents erected on the Lake Front 
Park, and rostrums erected in Dearborn Park and Lake Front 
Park for open-air meetings, there were thousands who, after mak- 
ing a tour of all the meetings, found themselves unable to get 
within hearing distance of any of the orators. 

The musical feature of these mass meetings was characteristic 
of the entire celebration. It was determined at the outset that the 
bands and choruses should not be provided for the entertainment 
of the audience, but rather as a stimulant to vocal endeavor. It 
was designed to raise from the people themselves a sort of patri- 
otic hozanna to harmonize with the tenor of the speeches. To 
accomplish this purpose, it was necessary that the selections 
should be popular and patriotic. .Such time-honored national 



18 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

anthems as "Hail Columbia," "Red, White and Blue," "The 
Star Spangled Banner," and "America," suggested themselves as 
the most appropriate, and they were sung with a spirit and 
enthusiasm that scarcely knew bounds. The choruses and bands 
merely led. The former, it should be recorded, were volunteers. 
Singing societies and church choirs were invited to assist in the 
exercises, and in most cases they readily complied with the re- 
quests made of them. Three thousand men and women of 
musical ability were thus gathered together, who, with earnest- 
ness and good nature, sought to carry out the wishes of the com- 
mittee. The chorus once formed, its members were assigned to 
the various halls and leaders, and tickets stamped with the place 
where they were to sing were issued to them. At the suggestion 
of the committee, the 3,000 singers gathered together on the 
evening of April 27, through a drenching rain, and rehearsed till 
the musical directors were satisfied that there would be no hitch 
or break on the day of the celebration, and, it should be added, 
every division on that day acquitted itself to the satisfaction of 
the thousands who assembled. The growing demands of the 
Executive Committee, owing to the constantly increasing dimen- 
sions of the celebration, made the engagement of sufificient 
bands a matter of considerable difficulty, but these were eventu- 
ally secured, and every hall and place of meeting was adequately 
supplied. 

Little remains to be said of the preparatory work for the Cen- 
tennial celebration. The accounts given elsewhere in this vol- 
ume of the special features of the celebration speak for them- 
selves. 

It was deemed proper by the General Executive Committee 
to tender resolutions of thanks to many who had generously 
given their time and attention to the undertaking, and the Hon. 
J. Young Scammon was made chairman of a committee to make 
acknowledgment to the press of Chicago for its enthusiastic 
cooperation. His report, which is herewith reproduced, was 
broad enough to cover the entire ground of organized gratitude, 
and was adopted as a sufficient acknowledgment to all. It was as 
follows: 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 1!) 

To the Executive Committee formed to institute and have charge of the 
celebration of the looth Anniversary of the organization of the Gov- 
ernment of the United States of America under the Constitution: 
The undersigned was appointed a member of the committee 
raised to consider the propriety of adopting resolutions of thanks 
to the public press of Chicago for the efficient, patriotic services 
rendered by this great instrument of public opinion in promoting 
this most important event in our national existence. 

The members of the committee have not found it convenient 
to meet together, and, as I promised to prepare a report on my 
individual responsibility, I submit the following: 

I considered the propriety of singling out the press for the 
special recipient of our thanks, and in determining the form for 
the expression of our grateful emotions I was led to look over the 
whole movement, and in doing so I have been unable to see why 
the press should receive our thanks beyond the various other 
agencies which have contributed as one man to render effective our 
wonderfully successful celebration. 

The press is acknowledged as the general mouthpiece of the 
public, yet it is mainly an auxiliary rather than a former of public 
opinion. It catches the popular breeze and gives it wings, and vi'oe 
to the man or association that fights against the wind of it. Per- 
haps it may be proper to quote Judge Storey's lines: "Here shall 
the press the people's rights maintain, unharmed by influence, un- 
bribed by gain;" and certainly in relation to our great celebration 
nothing but that which is commendable ought to be said of the 
press. But in comparison with the various other agencies and 
committees it ought to be remembered that in this matter the press 
followed its legitimate and proper role in its regular business, 
while the other parties were not veterans but volunteers in the 
patriotic army. 

While we give the veterans of the press all due honor, let us 
not forget the volunteers, nor by comparison take from the latter 
the guerdon to which they are entitled. 

I. To the directors of the Union League Club is due the 
existence of the committee, and the powers with which it was 
clothed, the use of the club house, the preliminary entertainment 
of the voluntary committee, and the grand entertainment at the 
banquet on the evening of April 30. 

II. To the Executive Committee, and especially its president 
and secretary, all the general arrangements and manner of the cele- 
bration, and the careful superintendence of its management and the 
general success of the whole affair. 



20 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

III. To the Committee on Religious Services, for the most per- 
fect and complete union of all religious bodies in Chicago, with- 
out any one surrendering individual or sectarian or distinct faith 
or peculiar claims, an almost universal service of grateful acknowl- 
edgment to our Heavenly Father for the blessings of civil and 
religious liberty which we all enjoy, and which are secured to us by 
the National Constitution, thus demonstrating that there is an 
American religion in which all can join in patriotic devotion. 

IV. To the Committee on Finance and its sub-committees for 
the necessary funds to render the celebration effective, satisfactory 
and an honor to us, the city and the country. 

V. To the Committee on General Observance of the Day 
throughout the Northwest, for the most efficient and successful 
efforts to cause the day to be duly honored in our new, greatest 
quarter of the republic. 

VI. To the Committee on Celebration by the Young People of 
our Schools, for the most patriotically instructive celebration the 
world ever knew. 

And to all the other committees, which are too numerous to 
name in this paper, the greatest credit for zeal, labor, good judg- 
ment and efficient work, without which some links would have 
been wanting in the bright chain which binds in one bundle the 
most successful efforts for a universally patriotic celebration our 
country has ever witnessed. 

With all these facts before us, it seems unwise to make any 
invidious comparisons, but that we should let the acts of the vari- 
ous participants in this gratefully patriotic labor speak for them- 
selves. As Mr. Webster said of Massachusetts, " Look at her. 
Here she is. She speaks for herself." So does our celebration, and 
so should it in history. I therefore submit the following resolution: 

Resolved, That a committee be appointed to receive from the 
various committees detailed statements of the labors and services 
rendered by them, including copies of all circulars or other papers 
issued by them in furtherance of the celebration of the looth Anni- 
versary of the organization of the government of the United States 
under the Constitution, and that such committee prepare a prepara- 
tory statement (to be printed in the volume to be issued by the 
Committee on Publication) of the proceedings of the various com- 
mittees, and the means employed by them to render the celebration 

a success. t ir c 

A,, ,• ■ ■ ^ ,, ,- • J J. Young ScAMMON. 

All which is respectfully submitted. 

Union League Club of Chicago, May 8, 1889. 
The reports were duly made, and it is from them tliat the 
account of the w ork given above has been compiled. One sug- 



OF IVASN/.VG TON'S INAUGURATION. 21 

gestion by the secretary of the Executive Committee needs 
special emphasis. It was urged by this officer that April 30 be 
set apart as a commemoration day in every decade, the next cele- 
bration to be held on April 30, 1899. Ten years, it is commonly 
said, covers the school life of a child. Ten years prior to the 
Centennial Celebration the men and women who were prominent 
in bringing it about were, many of them, high school boys and 
girls, and ten years hence the children who received souvenir 
medals will be in the active walks of life and happy to carry on 
a similar work. There seemed, therefore, to the committee a 
distinct need of such an observance. 

"Perhaps oftener would not be wise" — these are the words 
of the secretary's report — "but as often as this is requisite 
in order to reach the young people of the schools. If this 
plan is carried out each decade, all school children will have 
such an opportunity as the school children of Chicago, Cook 
County and the Northwest have had this year. Fourth of July 
is a day calculated to arouse enthusiasm for independence — inde- 
pendence of thought and action, independence in the breaking 
down of old things — a day for the removing of barriers, a day 
that is understood too much by the children (I speak from mem- 
ory as well as observation) as a day of license, freedom from law 
and restriction. Things are allowed on this day which are allowed 
on no other. This is well, but we need such a day as April 30 
to give emphasis to our Constitution, to creation rather than 
destruction, to the distinct national idea, to rejoice not that we 
have thrown off the yoke of England, but that we are a nation 
with national ideas and a history. Could this day have been 
observed in the decades of the last century throughout the land, 
perhaps love for the nation might have so far modified love for 
the state as to prevent a grievous civil conflict." 

It is with the purpose of furthering such a scheme, of keep- 
ing fresh in the minds of those who participated in the celebra- 
tion of April 30, 1889, the deep significance of the day, and of 
transmitting to future generations a record of the glad outpouring 
of the people to mark the first Centennial Anniversary of genuine 
national life, that this souvenir volume is issued. The design of 
the committee having its publication in charge is to publish new 
editions from time to time and give the volume the greatest pos- 
sible circulation. In this way it is hoped that the national idea 
will be emphasized and strengthened. 



11 



SERVICES IN THE CHURCHES 



II 

SERVICES IN THE CHURCHES 



At the Cathedral of the Holy Name, corner State and Superior 
streets, a solemn high military mass was celebrated at 9 o'clock. 
The beautiful church was crowded with worshipers, who came to 
return thanks that religious persecution was forever a thing of 
the past, and that the adoption of the Constitution of the United 
States heralded for all time freedom to worship as the heart dic- 
tated. The celebrants were the Rev. M. J. Fitzsimmons, the 
Rev. F. N. Perry as deacon, and the Rev. J. M. Scanlan as sub- 
deacon. The mass was the usual mass for the day, with a collect 
of thanksgiving. The church was devoid of any unusual decora- 
tion, save a large American flag, placed in front of the altar of 
St. Joseph by the Holy Name cadets, who formed the military 
element of the congregation. Dressed in zouave uniforms, they 
marched into the church in a column of fours. The acolytes 
serving mass also wore the uniform. Archbishop Feehan, wear- 
ing a purple cassock, cope and beretta, with white surplice, occu- 
pied a seat in the arch-episcopal throne. The choir gave Hay- 
den's third mass, "The Imperial;" "Veni Creator," Cerillo; 
offertory, Cello Solo, Browne; overture, "Jubel," Von Weber. 
The Rev. J. P. Muldoon ascended the pulpit, being escorted 
thither by a platoon of cadets. His text was Romans xiii.: i: "Let 
every soul be subject to the higher powers, for there is no power 
but from God and those that are ordained are of God." After 
an eloquent sermon he closed with a brilliant portrayal of the 
advantages which Catholics enjoyed as American citizens, and 
a reference to the services of France and Lafayette when 
the }oung republic was struggling for existence. After mass, 



26 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

Archbishop Feehan pronounced the benediction. Services were 
held in many of the other CathoHc churches, but in many 
instances the exercises consisted of the usual mass for the day 
and impromptu addresses. 

From the spire of the First Presbyterian Church, 260 feet 
above the sidewalk, floated in graceful folds the Stars and Stripes. 
The interior of the church presented a bewildering array of flags, 
flowers, bunting, and banners tastefully and picturesquely combined. 
It was an unusually gorgeous sight for a church scene, witnessed 
by 2,000 persons crowded within its walls. The First Regiment, 
under the command of Lieut. Col. Charles R. E. Koch, with gold- 
trimmed gray suits, white helmets, relieved by the sober-garbed 
veteran corps at its head, occupied a double row of seats reserved 
for it. The men were headed by the Elgin Military Band, 
under the direction of J. Hecker. Stuart's famous portrait of 
Washington hung in the centre of the great wall of flags. The 
Sunday-school children occupied the right and left galleries, while 
the superintendent, Mr. Henr)- W. Dudley, .sat with the pastor 
and others on the platform. The notes of Buck's "Triumphal 
March" rolled up from the organ, under the touch of the organist, 
Mr. Clarence Eddy. The singing of the Doxology followed, and 
the Rev. John D. McCord offered prayer. " The Star Spangled 
Banner," solo by the double quartette, chorus by the congregation, 
organ and Elgin band, wrought the people up to a degree of 
enthusiasm which was intense. Reading of the Scriptures, and a 
fantasie on American airs by the band, were followed by prayer 
by the pastor of the church. Then "Hail Columbia" sounded 
forth triumphantly, Mr. W. T. Carver singing the solo and the 
children of the Sunday-school the chorus. The Rev. John 
Henry Barrows, D. D., pastor of the church, delivered an oration 
on "A Hundred Years," after which "America" by the con- 
gregation, choir, organ, and band rang out, the benediction was 
pronounced, and the exercises of a day that will ever be remem- 
bered by those participating in them, were ended. The pro- 
grammes of the services of the First Church embodied the 
programmes for Centennial Day and the preceding Sunday, 
which had been observed as a day of thanksgiving and patriotic 
devotion. They were printed on rich white paper, in red and 



OF WASHI.VCrOX'S INAUGURATION. n 

blue — the national colors — with a portrait of Washington in blue 
on the frontispiece, and were models of neatness and beauty for 
a souvenir programme. 

At the Second Presbyterian Church, the Rev. Simon J. 
McPherson, D. D., delivered an earnest and thoughtful address 
on "The Character of Washington." He dwelt at length on the 
great care Washington gave to everything claiming his attention, 
and believed it was, in part, this faithfulness to minor details that 
saved the American Republic. He held up his disinterestedness 
and freedom from ofifice-seeking as an example to the politicians 
of our day. The office seeking the man, not the man the office, 
such was the picture drawn by the distinguished speaker of the 
great Washington. Such a civil service was what we of the pres- 
ent day needed, but, according to the speaker, were not likely soon 
to have. The organ loft and space in rear of the pulpit were 
beautifully draped witli flags, and the floral decorations were in 
admirable taste. 

More than a thousand people were gathered at the Third Pres- 
byterian Church, on the corner of Ogden and Ashland avenues. 
The Rev. Dr. J. L. Withrow, the pastor, offered a thanksgiving invo- 
cation. The national hymns, "America," " The Star Spangled Ban- 
ner," and " Hail Columbia," were enthusiastically sung, and over 
twenty short addresses, all breathing the spirit of thanksgiving 
and patriotism that characterized the day everywhere, were made. 
Among the thoughts expressed were these, that such great gath- 
erings prove that the people do believe that God lives and hears 
prayer; that an increasing and intelligent sentiment for Sabbath 
observance is rising over the land, and that there are always 
enough good men to overcome the forces of evil, and that the 
awful crime of intemperance is becoming more and more hated 
by the people. 

The Fourth Presbyterian Church, on the North Side, witnessed 
a repetition of the scenes of thanksgiving, flowers and decorations 
shown in other churches. A large American flag, gracefully 
folded, formed a fitting background for a handsomely-framed por- 
trait of "The Father of his Country." The singing of national 
airs opened the exercises of the day. The Rev. Dr. M. Woolsey 
Stryker remarked, as he opened the Scriptures to read the lesson, 



28 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

that "he was a man of dull spiritual imagination who could not 
apply to our country the promises to Israel." Dr. Stryker made 
a short address, abounding in patriotism and religious fervor, and 
the services closed with the singing of "America." 

The Eighth Presbyterian Church was handsomely decorated, 
both within and without, with the national colors. A large con- 
gregation was present at 9 o'clock to participate in the exercises. 
The pastor, the Rev. Thomas D. Wallace, D. D., and the ruling 
elders, occupied seats on the platform. Piety and patriotism 
blended in hymn and prayer, and a reverent, grateful spirit 
marked all the services of the hour. After several of our coun- 
try's anthems had been sung, and the hymn. 

Great God of Nations now to Thee 
Our hymn of gratitude we raise, 

the Invocation and Lord's Prayer followed, and Dr. Wallace made 
these introductory remarks: 

To-day we celebrate the completion of a century of constitu- 
tional life. We may well thank God and take courage. We are 
here with common consent as Christian citizens to recall and re- 
cord the goodness of God in our national history. He hath not 
dealt so with any nation. We have heard with our ears, O God, 
our fathers have told us what work Thou didst in their day; for 
they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did 
their own arm save them, but Thy right hand and Thine arm, and 
the light of Thy countenance, because Thou didst have favor unto 
them. From a small seed has grown a giant tree of liberty; from 
a few states, more than forty; from 3,000,000 of people, 63,000,000; 
from a handful of corn, a great harvest. What was then untamed 
territory is now the well-ordered domain of majestic common- 
wealths. Founded in faith and freedom, our institutions are the 
fruits of God's providence and man's fidelity. 

Every step has been a struggle, every day has closed with a 
song, and we have finished one hundred years with peace in all our 
borders, prosperity in our coasts, and quiet confidence and gratitude 
in our hearts. This flag, thank God! has no star erased, and is 
to-day, in fact as in name, the symbol of a free nation. Let it float 
forever over the peaceful homes of a pious and patriotic people. 
Truth shall spring out of the earth and righteousness shall look 
down from heaven. 

I welcome you to this sanctuary, and under the shelter of the 
Almighty wings, let us trust that the red of this flag shall symbolize 



OF IV.iSf/iyGTO.V'S INAUGURATION. 29 

the blood which was shed to pay the price of freedom, and the liv- 
ing current which to-day would flow for its defense. The white 
shall stand for God, the Light in which we would live, in which our 
victories were achieved, and by which our liberties and peace have 
been conserved. The blue shall stand for the celestial canopy over 
us — yet touching us all around the horizon; it shall stand for God 
and man linked together — for the accomplishment of the loftiest 
purposes touching human life upon this planet. 

All hail the day! Let us reverently pay our tribute of praise 
to Him who crowns this century of our national life with abundance 
of peace and grace. 

The congregation then sung Dr. Leonard Bacon's hymn: 

O God, beneath thy guiding hand 
Our exiled fathers crossed the sea, 

which was followed by reading of selections from Psalms xliv. 
and evil., by pastor and people. The following national hymn, 
written for the occasion by Mr. J. P. Bates, was sung by the choir: 

As pilgrims halt at heat of noon 
Beneath some friendly wayside shade. 
And celebrate the priceless boon 
Of guiding hand in progress made; 
So this great Nation stops to-day 
In onward march to larger things. 
And seeks by voice and act to pay 
Its tribute to the King of Kings. 

One hundred years ago, our land, 

Still weak and bruised from lengthened strife, 

Made Washington, with patriot band. 

The Leader of its legal life. 

A Constitution's binding force 

Cemented many into one. 

And shaped the infant Nation's course 

Through toils and dangers just begun. 

Among the Powers of the world. 

We won the name of brave and free. 

And made our flag in air unfurled, 

Emblem of might from sea to sea. 

And now, behold! what God hath wrought 

In us and for us by His power! 

To Him be lifted every thought 

In gratitude this f,-ivored hour. 



30 CHICAGO'S CENTENXIAL CELEBRATION 

As vestal virgins at their shrine 
Rekindled sacred fires when low, 
So let our homes and altars shine 
With true devotion's warming glow. 
The founders of our Nation's weal, 
Wise men and strong, deserve our love; 
Recount their deeds with ardent zeal. 
And breathe a song of praise above. 

Mr. Epliraim Banning, a ruling elder in the Eighth Presby- 
terian Church, then delivered an able address, and Mrs. Hemans's 
hymn, " The Pilgrim Fathers," was sung as a solo by Mrs. Wal- 
lace. Mr. Thomas Hood, another of the ruling elders, offered 
prayer, and "America" was joyfully sung, and the benediction 
offered by Dr. Wallace. 

The Church of the Covenant (Presbyterian), the Rev. D. R. 
Breed, D. D., pastor, held union services, which were participated 
in by the pastors of the Baptist, Wesley Methodist, Grace English 
Lutheran, Fullerton Avenue Presbyterian, Bclden Avenue Presby- 
terian and St. Matthew's Reformed Episcopal Churches. More 
than a thousand people were present. A delegation of Grand 
Army veterans occupied seats in the body of the church. National 
flags were displayed on the walls. A large chorus choir repre- 
senting the several churches, and under the leadership of Mr. S. 
P. McDivitt of the Church of the Covenant, led the singing. Mr. 
McDivitt opened the services with a few well-chosen words of 
welcome and of congratulation on the occasion which had called 
the people together. After the singing of " The Red, White and 
Blue," prayer was offered by the Rev. W. H. Burns of the Wesley 
Methodist Church, and selections from the Scriptures were read 
by the Rev. H. H. Barbour, pastor of the Belden Avenue Church. 
The exercises were continued in the following order: Hymn, 
" God Bless our Native Land ; " addresses by the Revs. L. M. 
Heilman and R. F. Coyle, the Grace Lutheran and Fullerton 
avenue pastors; hynm, " The Star Spangled Banner;" addresses by 
the Rev. R. D. Scott of the Belden Avenue Presbyterian Church, 
and the Rev. Herrick Johnson, D. D., of the McCormick Theolog- 
ical Seminary; hymn, " My Country, 'tis of Thee ; " benediction, 
pronounced by the Rev. W. H. Burns. 

The services at the First L^nited Presbyterian Church, corner 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 31 

of West Monroe and Paulina streets, were conducted by the pas- 
tor, the Rev. W. T. Meloy, D. D. The church choir rendered 
special anthems and the people united in singing Psalms c. and 
Ixvii. I. G. Brown, M. D., and Mr. D. H. Henderson, veterans of 
the Civil War, led the people in prayer. Addresses were delivered 
by Mr. T. H. Gault, the Hon. James F. Claflin, and Charles G. 
Davis, M. D. The services were solemn, impressive and patriotic. 
The addresses abounded in expressions of loyalty to the country, 
while acknowledging that security and peace were to be found 
alone in the blessing of Him by whose power we had been 
exalted among the nations of the earth. The Union flag deco- 
rated the pulpit, but the praises sung were not to our country 
but to our country's God. The speakers rejoiced that gratitude 
to God had been awakened, while devotion to the old flag with 
its white of purity, its red of glor}-, and its blue of heavenly benefi- 
cence, had been intensified. 

The services in the various Episcopal churches usually con- 
sisted of an abbreviated form of morning prayer, with appropriate 
psalms and hymns, that being the order set forth by the Bishop 
of Iowa and recommended by the Bishop of Chicago for use in this 
diocese. The service, which was specially appropriate, was com- 
piled by the Dean of Davenport, from the ofifices contained in the 
Proposed Book, in the preparation of which Bishop Provoost, who 
officiated at St. Paul's Chapel on the occasion of the religious 
observance of Washington's Inauguration, April 30, 1789, was 
concerned. 

At Grace Episcopal Church, Wabash avenue, the services were 
conducted by the Rev. Clinton Locke, D. D., with special prayers, 
and selections from Washington's first Inaugural Address. 

St. James's Church was well filled with devout worshipers. The 
rector, the Rev. William H. Vibbert, S. T. D., officiated. A full 
surpliced choir sang the responses and the choral parts of the serv- 
ice. The regular service already mentioned followed the morning 
prayer. The anthem was the "Misericordias Domini," followed by 
the 1 1 8th Psalm: "O, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is gracious; 
because His mercy endureth forever." It comprised the Te Deuni 
arranged b}' Smart in F, the Apostles' Creed, Collects for the 
day, for peace and grace ; a prayer for our civil rulers ; a special 



83 CHICAGO'S CEiVTE.V.VIAL CELEBRATION 

thanksgiving, general thanksgiving and a prayer of St. Chrysostom. 
Dr. Vibbert addressed the people briefly, speaking of the connec- 
tion of the cliurch and rehgion with the efforts of the people of 
1776, for liberty and constitutional government. 

At St. Andrew's Protestant Episcopal Church the regular 
services observed in the other churches were held, after which the 
rector, the Rev. William C. DeWitt, delivered a sermon. The 
musical portion of the service was rendered by the surpliced 
choir, the congregation assisting in the hymns: "God Bless our 
Native Land ;" " Before the Lord we Bow ; " and " Come Thou 
Almighty King." The only decorations were the national colors 
worn by members of the assembly. 

At Christ Reformed Episcopal Church the Second Regiment 
of Infantry, Battery D of the Artillery, and Bunker Post 373, 
G. A. R., gave a military aspect to the gathering. The Rt. Rev. 
Bishop Charles Edward Cheney gave a noble address, and wel- 
comed the veterans and militia in a speech of thanks for their 
attendance, which, he thought, linked the past and the present. 
The ladies of the church, assisted by Mr. Edward H. Turner, had 
spared neither time nor effort in making the edifice one of the 
most elaborately decorated churches of the day. The people 
commenced gathering early, and many were obliged to go away 
on account of difficulty in obtaining even standing room. 

St. Paul's Reformed Episcopal Church varied the usual exer- 
cises of the day by having forty-two young ladies of the High 
School, dressed in white, represent the states of the Union, 
while Miss Edith Foster personated the Goddess of Liberty. 
Bishop Fallows delivered a scholarly address on the subject: "A 
Review of the Century." 

The services of the Wabash Avenue Methodist Episcopal 
Church were held in the Sunday-school room. The national 
hymns were sung, and brief addresses made by the pastor, the 
Rev. R. H. Pooley, and Dr. D. S. Smith, Mr. Charles Busby, and 
Dr. A. Burr. 

At the Centenary Methodist Church the observances of the 
day were brief, but none the less patriotic. The Rev. H. E. 
Jackson took charge of the exercises, and the Hon. L. L. Bond 
iiave a short address. 



OF WASHING TOIL'S LVAUGURATION. 33 

The Trinity Metiiodist Church, Indiana avenue and Twenty- 
fourth street, was handsomely decorated, and potted plants, flow- 
ers and bunting added their attractions to the music and the 
bright and interesting speeches. The musical exercises consisted 
of an organ voluntary ; the hymn, " O Worship the King, All Glo- 
rious Above ; " a solo, " The Red, White and Blue," by Mrs. L. 
Hasbrouck: the hymn, " Mighty God, While Angels Bless Thee," 
selections from Washington's first Inaugural, and remarks by the 
pastor, Rev. F. M. ]5ristol, D. D., which were followed by an 
address delivered by the Rev. Arthur Edwards, D. D., editor of 
the Nortlnvcstcrn Christian Advocate. 

The Centennial exercises at the Ada Street Methodist Episco- 
pal Church were made peculiarly interesting, because under the 
auspices of a Washington Historical Society, which had been 
organized several months previously to study American history 
with special reference to the Constitution. The society consisted 
of young people, and two prizes were offered for the best essays 
upon "Washington as a Patriot." The essays were read, and the 
gifts av.arded as a feature of the Centennial service. Inquiries 
came from other portions of the city as to whether persons not 
members of the Historical Society could compete for these prizes. 
As a result of the question, Congressman William E. Mason offered 
a third prize for the best essay upon the subject already assigned, 
to be competed for by any one outside of the church. The com- 
petitors forwarded their productions from all parts of the city. 
They were read by the appointed judges, with the following 
results: Miss Lena Caldwell received the first prize of the 
society. Miss Alice McClurg the second prize, and Miss Nellie 
McKay special honorable mention. To J. Wilbur Reed was 
awarded the Mason prize. Presentation speeches, appropriate 
and eloquent, were made by Congressman Mason, Samuel Polkey, 
and R. W. Vasey. The prizes were two gold medals and a work 
upon "American History." Congratulatory remarks were made 
by Mr. C. O. Boring. Miss Fleming recited " Washington's Drum- 
mer Boy" very effectively. The congregation, which completely 
filled the house, sang "Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah," and 
"America," with joyous enthusiasm. The church was most elab- 
orately trimmed with bunting and flags; bunting was on the 



34 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

gallery railings, and flags were nailed to the pillars, attached to 
the organ pipes, and around the beneficent face of Washington, as 
it beamed from the wall. A flag was also given to each person in 
the audience. A beautiful souvenir programme was prepared and 
presented to all present by Mr. I. A. Fleming. American colors 
were also given to the children. The Rev. J. P. Brushingham, the 
pastor, delivered the address and presided over the devotional 
exercises. 

At the First M. E. Church more than ordinary interest was 
manifested, owing, in part, to the presence of the Grand Army 
soldiers, who marched in line to the church, and whose presence 
acted as an inspiration to Centennial enthusiasm. The " Sons of 
America" were also present, every camp in the city turning out 
in full numbers. Eight hundred marched in step to the music of 
Maj. Nevans's Band. The auditorium was crowded to its utmost 
capacity. When all the seating and standing room in the build- 
ing was taken, the surging multitude crowded the halls, where, 
while they could not see the orator, they could hear his sonorous 
voice and join in the frequent applause. The Rev. A. W. Bolton, 

D. D., commander of the U. S. Grant Post 28, G. A. R., pronounced 
the oration. 

The people of the New England Congregational and the 
La Salle Avenue Baptist Churches united with the members of 
Grace Methodist Church, and together they celebrated the day. 
The choirs of the three churches were under the guidance of Mr. 

E. S. Fogg. The church was adorned with small flags, and bunt- 
ing draped the rails, organ and pulpit, while potted plants added 
their loveliness and fragrance to the architectural beauty of the 
church. The principal oration was by the Rev. Mr. Thames, on 
"Character," after which the pastor of the church, the Rev. 
Robert Mclntyre, made a patriotic and brilliant address. 

Plymouth Congregational Church was honored by the pres- 
ence of Gov. Fifer and his staff', as guests of the day. All except 
the Governor were in full uniform. The Governor entered, fol- 
lowed by Gen. J. W. Vance, adjutant-general; Col. W. S. Brock- 
ett, inspector-general; Col. Theodore Ewert, assistant adjutant- 
general, and Col. Frank Clendenin, Col. H. Kohler, Col. Charles 
Bogardus, Col. Louis Krughoff, and Capt. R. B. Kennedy, aides- 



OF IVASU/A'C TOM'S LVAUGURATION. 35 

de-camp. Miss Josephine Lester, as the Goddess of Liberty, sat 
at the right of the Governor, and behind sat 500 Sunday-school 
children, all carrying flags. The Rev. F. W. Gunsaulus, D. D., 
gave the oration, which, though brief, abounded in patriotic 
thoughts and brilliant sayings. 

At the Union Park Congregational Church, Prof. G. S. F. 
Savage offered a prayer full of touching sentiments and devout 
thanks for the blessings of the past century. The Rev. Dr. F. A. 
Noble, the pastor, read the Inaugural of President Washington, 
and Prof. G. B. Wilcox of the Congregational Seminary, gave a 
thrilling address. The platform was decorated chiefly with flow- 
ers, and an oil portrait of the man whose memory was the princi- 
pal tlieme of nearly every address. 

The Imperial Quartette and a full choir gave a patriotic 
and beautiful song service at the First Congregational Church, 
the Rev. E. P. Goodwin, D. D., pastor. The Hon. C. C. Bonncy 
gave the oration of the day, speaking earnestly and ably on " The 
Centennial of Constitutional Liberty." Prof. H. M. Scott, D. D., of 
the Congregational Theological Seminary, also spoke, and mingled 
with the enthusiasm of the day \\as an undercurrent of religious 
thanksgiving for the boon of a secure and unmolested liberty. 

Music, happy faces, flowers, patriotic enthusiasm, bunting, and 
flags greeted the attendants at the First Baptist Church. Instead 
of a painting of the beloved Washington, a marble bust found a 
restifig place amid the flowers just over the pulpit. The Rev. 
Dr. P. S. Henson, the pastor, spoke of the countrj^ in its infancy 
and followed its growth to the present time. The Civil War, he 
said, removed a cancer that soothing syrup could not help, and so 
the knife had to be resorted to. Yet the Southern people were 
to-day lovers of the flag. He expected to see the flag of our 
country floating over Canada and Mexico ere long, and in time 
he believed it would advance across the isthmus and rule South 
y\merica, being an emblem of freedom to far-away Patagonia. 
The second century would bring great poets and great statesmen, 
but never would the man be found who would eclipse the fame of 
Washington. The greatest among others would be far behind 
him. Washington was our noblest patriot and statesman; he 
was our sovereign, our king. 



36 CHICAGO'S CENTEXNIAL CELEBRATION 

The Fourth Baptist Church celebrated the day in the lecture- 
room. The rod, white and blue were visible in profusion, and 
here, as nearly everywhere else, was to be seen the face of him 
whom all revered. Simplicity marked the programme, and a 
short but heart-felt speech by the pastor, the Rev. J. VVolfenden, 
and music by the choir, expressed the earnest feelings of the 
people. 

The Immanuel Baptist Church was handsomely trimmed. The 
service was long and varied. The Orkney and Shetland Benevo- 
lent Societies, and George H. Thomas Post 5, turned out in full 
force. Essays on patriotism were read and money prizes 
awarded to C. A. Smith, A. H. Morris, Miss Mattie Coleman of 
the Moseley School, and the Misses Lorimer, Strawbridge, and 
Stoffer. The Rev. Geo. C 1-orimer, D. D., preached the sermon, 
which glowed with patriotism. 

At the Second Baptist Church, the decorations were on a 
magnificent scale. The church was canopied and draped with 
the national colors. The quartette choir was assisted by an 
auxiliary choir and quartette. The Rev. Dr. William M. Law- 
rence, the pastor, spoke briefly but eloquently to a large audience. 

The beautiful St. Paul's Universalist Church, corner of Thir- 
tieth street and Prairie avenue, was finely decorated with flags. 
There was a full attendance and the exercises began with devo- 
tional sentences and the following exhortation: "Dearly Beloved 
— We are met together with the memories and mercies of a cent- 
ury of national life to gladden and to solemnize our hearts. Let 
us acknowledge the Source of all our country's good and great- 
ness. Let us confess ourselves servants of God. Let us seek to 
renew in the light of the Gospel, the virtues and the aspirations 
which alone can make us a happy people." A psalm read 
responsively, an anthem, the Scripture lesson, and prayer, fol- 
lowed. "The Star Spangled Banner" was sung before, and 
"America" after an admirable address given by the pastor, the 
Rev. John Coleman Adams, D. D. He held the closest attention 
as he offered "A Friendly Word to Patriots," speaking from the 
text, "Other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors." 
He said in substance: "I suppose that the best uses to which 
we can put this Centennial occasion are by no means those of 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 37 

self-gratulation. Merely to rehearse great deeds done is not a 
performance which greatly edifies. Two things are needed to 
make that exercise profitable: 

"First, a lively sympathy with the spirit and the purposes of 
these men of old. We must be able to feel something of Washing- 
ton's high-mindedness, something of Henry's ardor, something of 
Sam Adams's love of country; else how can we read with intelli- 
gence the Farewell Address of Washington; what meaning will 
there be for us in Henry's words, 'I am no longer a Virginian but 
an American;' how shall we feel the solemn devotion and love in 
Adams's words, 'This is a glorious morning for America.' 

"Second, a right reading of the lessons of the past to our own 
age. We are to remember in every such an hour as this how what 
is now history was once a living present, and seeing the benefi- 
cent influence of the events which were, we are to remember the 
import of those which are." 

Dr. Adams spoke of what we owed to our institutions, and said 
that the Constitution was an embodiment of Christian principles. 
He dwelt at length on how much our institutions owed to the 
character of our citizens, and spoke of the personal character of 
the Constitution-makers, and closed by declaring that "We cele- 
brate a victory of peace." 

"Old Hundred," sung by over two hundred voices, ushered in, 
and "America" closed the ceremonies commemorative of the day, 
celebrated at the Church of the Redeemer. "The Life of Wash- 
ington" was the theme on which the Rev. Charles Conklin, the 
pastor, discoursed. He spoke at length of the character of the 
first President and his influence in the formation of the Consti- 
tution, dwelling on his patience, faithfulness, and patriotism. 
The congregation sang "Hail Columbia," after which one of the 
church officers addressed the people and another offered prayer. 
After singing another of the national songs the gathering dis- 
persed, carrying in their hearts lessons and sentiments not soon 
to be forgotten. 

The Third Unitarian Church employed in observance of 
the day the regular choral service for national occasions. The 
Rev. Vila Blake spoke to the people at length, his discourse being 
divided into three themes, and between each part solos were 



38 CHICAGO'S CE.VTEXNIAL CELEBRATIOX 

sung. The first theme dwelt upon was Washington and the Rev- 
olutionary War, after which the organ sounded forth a triumphal 
march, and Mr. Morgan of the choir sang "The Sword of Bunker 
Hill." Mr. Blake next spoke of Washington's victories in times 
of peace, when Mr. Phillips sang "Land of Peace and Concord," 
which had been set to an old Welsh melody. The third division 
of the sermon related to Washington's lesson and example, teach- 
ing us that true freedom is obedience and justice, and Miss 
Holmes sang " Freedom, fair Freedom," arranged to an air from 
Handel. The pulpit platform was v(ixy tastefully decorated with 
the national colors. 

The Church of the Messiah made a special service for 
the day. The edifice was decorated elaborately. The chil- 
dren from the Home for the Friendless attended, and the 
Rev. David Utter spoke briefly on the events which called 
together the people to worship and rejoice. He argued that 
a nation's prosperity was not assured alone by its limitless 
territory, its commercial resources, its inventions, or its agri- 
culture. The basis of its perpetuity lay in its government, in its 
Constitution, and so long as its Constitution found an echo in the 
people's hearts so long would the nation continue and prosper. 

The English Evangelical Lutheran Church celebrated the day 
in truly patriotic spirit. For an half-hour before the services the 
bell rang out its joyous invitation. The audience chamber was 
crowded. The services began with the " Regular Order for Morn- 
ing Worship," as set forth in the Church Book of the General 
Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in North America, 
the Thanksgiving Introit, with prayers for magistrates, being 
used. The Scripture lessons were from Deut. viii., and Ps. cvii. 
The Rev. H. W. Roth, D. D., pastor, spoke as follows: 

It is befitting that we hold such a service. When a man 
reaches one hundred years his friends joyously greet him. God 
made it the duty of Israel to celebrate their jubilees. Iceland and 
Russia have celebrated their one thousandth anniversaries. China, 
the oldest nation, has celebrated many others still more ancient. 
As a nation we are very young. We were first dependent colonists, 
then colonies in the Revolution, then a Confederation, with all its 
attendant conflicts and dangers. Through the guidance and great 
wisdom of Washington, peace ensued, the Constitution was adopted, 



OF IVASH/.VCTOX'S IXA UGUKA TIOX. 39 

and from this day one hundred years ago, as Washington took the 
oath of inauguration as first President, our national life distinctly 
dates. Loyal is the Lutheran Church to every flag whose protec- 
tion she enjoj's; and for ourselves, many of us born in other lands, 
and for our children, born in this fair land, we most heartily 
engage in the fit and patriotic observance of this most happy day. 

Men die, but the nation lives. The fathers, where are they? 
Xerxes wept that of his million soldiers about to invade Europe, in 
one hundred years not one would be left. Of those who took an 
intelligent part in the occurrences of one hundred years ago, not 
one is with us to-day. When this Centennial Anniversary occurs 
again, our sixty millions of present population will have been 
gathered to the dust. Our nation, despite the doings of death, still 
lives. How rich and vigorous the life which the United States of 
America has lived, both for the nation and for humanity! Her 
statesmen, soldiers, jurists, theologians, preachers, philanthropists, 
physicians, teachers, poets, authors, inventors and multitudes of 
good men and noble women, have made the nation rich, great, 
prosperous, powerful and a blessing to the world. All thanks to 
God for His great goodness! 

Will the nation continue? What is the future of the republic? 
That rests with ourselves. The past has taught us much. Our 
coins say "In God We Trust." Is this the inmost faith of our hearts? 
As a nation, do we fear God and reverence sacred things? Is the 
blessed religion of our Lord Jesus Christ abidingly present in our 
homes and lives, and does it rightly influence us in all the varied 
relations of our multiplied activities? If so, and we so continue, 
the future is no less sure for us than has been the past. But if not, 
so surely as we turn away from God, so surely will He turn away 
from us. May He mercifully grant to us all His gracious spirit, 
that we may "do justly, love mercy and walk humbly before God." 

Prayer followed and the choir sang anthems appropriate to 
the day, and the services closed with the Doxolog}'. On the pre- 
ceding Lord's day, the Sunday-school, numbering 40x3, had a 
special commemorative meeting, with Scripture lessons, hymns, 
and an address from Pastor Roth on "Some Lessons for Young 
Americans from the Life of Washington." 



40 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

SERVICES AND ADDRESSES. 



THE REV. FREDERICK A. NOBLE, D. D. 

AT UNION PARK CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 

The God of . . . Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people. 

— Acts xiii,:I7. 

To some men it is given to be wise beyond their time. On the 
22d of November, according to the present mode of reckoning, in 
the year of our Lord 1620, in the cabin of the little ship which had 
brought the Pilgrim fathers to these shores, as she lay at rest, after 
her long and perilous voyage, within the shelter of Cape Cod, what 
has come to be known in history as the "Mayflower Compact," was 
read, and signed by the forty-one men who stood for all the fam- 
ilies and represented ail the common interests of the entire com- 
pany. 

It is a brief document, covering not more than a half page of an 
ordinary book, but it is long enough to hold this remarkable state- 
ment: "We whose names are underwritten . . . do by these 
presents solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and of 
one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil 
body politic, for our better ordering and preservation, and further- 
ance of the ends aforesaid, and by virtue hereof, to enact, consti- 
tute and form such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitu- 
tions and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet 
and convenient for the general good of the colony, unto which we 
promise all due submission and obedience." 

In speaking of this transaction, Bancroft says: "This was the 
birth of popular constitutional liberty. The middle age had been 
familiar with charters and constitutions, but they had been merely 
compacts for immunities, partial enfranchisements, patents of no- 
bility, concessions of municipal privileges, or limitations of sover- 
eign power, in favor of feudal institutions. In the cabin of the 
Mayflower humanity recovered its rights, and instituted govern- 
ment on the basis of 'equal laws' for the 'general good.' " 

The characterization is not too strong, nor is the tribute too 
hearty. This was the organization of Democracy. Man, leaving 
behind him all the impertinent suggestions of class distinction, and 
advancing in the imperial majesty of his simple manhood, came to 
the front. 

The germ of all this lay far back in an old and precious document. 
But not in Magna Charta, which was wrested by the Archbishop 



OF WASHINGTOX'S INAUGURATION. 41 

of Canterbury and the angry barons from King John at Runny- 
mede; and not in the Bill of Rights even, which Parliament, rep- 
resenting a long-suffering realm, forced from Charles I. twenty 
years before this arbitrary sovereign lost his head, but not until 
almost ten years after the Mayflower compact had been signed is 
there to be found any such pronounced recognition of the equal 
rights of man as is contained in this instrument which Carver, 
and Bradford, and Winslow, and Brewster, and Allerton, and 
Standish, and Alden, and tlie rest of that far-seeing and con- 
secrated band, drew up and gave to the world. 

Announced and set in motion in the administration of affairs at 
Plymouth, this doctrine of equal rights, not yet carried to the 
point to which it was sure to come, of the independent sovereignty 
of the people, reappeared in the town meetings of the Massachusetts 
Bay Colony, and compelled recognition in spite of the fears of Win- 
throp even and of Cotton; and in Rhode Island, under the broad 
banner of Roger Williams, who had the foresight and the courage 
to avow this large principle and to stand on it: "The sovereign 
power of all civil authority is founded in the consent of the peo- 
ple;" and in Connecticut, where the influence of Thomas Hooker 
— the most in-looking and out-looking man of the early colonial 
times — and John Haynes, and the younger Winthrop, was so poten- 
tial in securing what has been claimed to be "the first written 
Constitution, in the modern sense of the term, as a permanent limi- 
tation on power, known in history;" and in Virginia in the pro- 
tests and rebellions of the every-day folk, often so pronounced, 
against the usurpations of aristocratic burgesses and the arbitrary 
rule of royal governors like Berkeley; and in Pennsylvania, where 
the immortal Penn began his "holy experiment" by saying to the 
settlers who had been induced to come over and occupy the state 
it was in his heart to found: "You shall be governed by the laws 
of your own making, and live a free and, if you will, a sober and 
industrious people." 

It reappeared — this doctrine of equal rights — all along the coast, 
whose surging seas, whose deep and majestic forests, whose tonic 
airs, whose largess life seemed to have something in them to breed 
the spirit of freedom, from Maine to Georgia, wherever there were 
isolated homes, or hamlets, or towns, or villages, or cities popu- 
lated by souls intent on better opportunities for themselves and 
their posterity; and any attempt to deny it or suppress it only 
made the existence of it more evident. 

It reappeared, still more radiant, and broadened out into what 
alone can give solidity and perennial fruitfulness to equal rights — 



42 CHICAGO'S CEA'TEN.V/AI. CKLEBRATIOX 

the absolute sovereignly of the people— a little more than a century 
and a half after it had had voicing in the cabin of the Mayflower, 
in the sublimest and most influential form ever given to it in 
words, in the Declaration of Independence. In this the doctrine 
culminated. 

How clear the statements of this great instrument! How lofty 
the sentiment! I low abiding the energy! "We hold these truths 
to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are 
endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that 
among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That, 
to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, 
deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, and 
that, when any form of government becomes destructive of these 
ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to insti- 
tute new governments, laying its foundations on such principles 
and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most 
likely to effect their safety and happiness." 

The Revolution, led by Washington, with its thunders of guns 
rolling on from Lexington and Concord to Yorktown, made that 
august declaration good. The Constitution, formed by a body of 
men over whom Washington presided, and whose superiors in polit- 
ical sagacity the world has never seen— John Langdon, Rufus 
King, Roger Sherman, Alexander Hamilton, William Livingston, 
Benjamin Franklin, Gouverneur Morris, James Madison, John Rut- 
ledge, Charles Pinckney — along with others, who, in addition to 
their uncalculating patriotism, are justly illustrious for the shining 
qualities of their minds, or their robust common sense, set their 
seal to that august document and made it operative. 

Now one hundred years of national life, which have moved along 
the lines of ideas which were announced in the Mayflower compact, 
and reasserted in Rhode Island and Connecticut and Massachu- 
setts, and kindled into flame in the Declaration of Independence, 
and for which the Revolution was fought and the Constitution was 
framed, with a great-grandson of one of the signers of the Declara- 
tion of Independence sitting in the executive chair to send back 
greeting to the Father of his Country, come in to demonstrate that 
government "of the people, and by the people, and for the people," 
is the best government ever devised and administered by men. 

The love of liberty is indigenous to the human heart. Through 
these ages men have dreamed of liberty, and have felt that they 
were made for liberty, as they were made for immortality. One 
discovers everywhere tokens of a sense of the right to liberty, and 
of the value and joy of liberty. Appreciation of liberty is seen in 



OF IVA SUING TON'S JNAUG URATION. 43 

the breast of the savage, and it moves on apace with the progress 
of civilization. Yonder in Central Asia, where the Indo-Europeans 
had their early home, and from whence they set out in their great 
Western migrations, the love of liberty was conspicuous. On the 
banks of the Indus, in the fertile valleys of the Euphrates, under 
the shadow of the mighty pyramids and along the borders of the 
Nile, in frigid Russia and in sunny Greece, under the soft skies of 
Italy and Spain, among the mountain fastnesses of Switzerland, 
along the slopes where the grapes are gathered and the herds are 
pastured in beautiful France, behind the dikes of Holland, over the 
plains and amid the forests of Germany, far north in the Scandi- 
navian retreats, where muscle is trained by hardship and storms 
nurture the courage to do and dare; within the sea-girt Isle, whose 
scepter of autliority has been wielded by an Alfred, by a William 
the Concpieror, by an Elizabeth, and by a Victoria; up in the 
Highlands, where the Bruces and Wallaces led their clans, and 
Burns sung songs as enduring as Homer's, and Scott waved his 
wizard's wand; in Ireland, where the echoes of the voice of O'Con- 
nell still linger in the air, persuasive, potential, and the name of 
Robert Emmet stirs like a bugle call; here in this broad land of 
America, everywhere, of what race or clime, man feels himself to 
be hindered, cramped, thwarted, cruelly wronged, without liberty, 
and the aspirations and cries of his soul and the struggles of his 
hands have been for liberty. It has been so whether under tyran- 
nies ancient or modern. 

Patrick Henry formulated it in fiery speech, but the brave sen- 
timent had been domiciled in millions of hearts before: "Give me 
liberty or give me death." He was but joining hands with 
Demosthenes and Pym, and anticipating Warren, and Ellsworth, 
and Winthrop, and McPherson. What conspiracies there have 
been, what revolts, what revolutions, what long and bloody wars, 
what overturnings of dynasties and readings of empires, simply 
because this instinctive love of liberty with which man comes into 
the world refuses to be overlooked or relegated into the back- 
ground at the dictates of tyrants and usurpers and privileged 
classes, but will assert itself on every opportunity. What an ele- 
ment of pathos it lends to the picture which confronts us wherever 
we turn our eyes in the past — this patience with which the multi- 
tudes who make up the lower sections of the nations go through 
their tasks, bearing their heavy burdens, doing their enforced work, 
and consenting in a kind of dumb, despairing way, because they 
cannot help it, to be trampled into the dust by their pitiless oppress- 
ors, while there is all the time a consciousness in their souls — 



44 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

very vague, no doubt, in many of them — that they were made for 
a better destiny, that they are not receiving their fair share of 
rights, and that it would be a blessed thing to break the chains of 
their heartless bondage and go forth with limbs and minds 
emancipated. How we sympathize with the fierce Maccabees in 
their heroic protests and their thunderous blows against unright- 
eous dominion, and with those Roman Gracchi in their desperate 
attempts to secure some larger measure of equity to the people, 
and with those German peasants, in their uprisings and wars, and 
with Netherland revolts, and English rebellions — with all, indeed, 
in every land and age who have been found ready to forget posi- 
tion and to risk property and life for the precious boon of freedom. 
It is because there is a feeling inborn in our hearts to interpret the 
feeling inborn in their hearts, and we are sure that this native 
instinct which takes us forward in the assertion of equal rights, 
and in the claim for self-government, is both a common one and 
God-given. It is not an accident, it is not an incident, that men 
love and long for liberty. 

But what have the leaders of the world's civil politics been say- 
ing about this? Why, that it was simply a pleasant hallucination. 
The old Pharaohs, the Ceesars, the Tamerlanes, the Louises, the 
Charleses, have had no other thought. Despots, kings asserting 
their divine right of kingship, oligarchs, aristocracies, feudal lords, 
rulers in general, have wrapped the robes of royal complacency 
about them, and smiled and said: "This aspiration for freedom is 
only a vision of the imagination, an unsubstantial castle in the air." 

Nevertheless, here in this land of America, this fond dream has 
been realized. For a full round centurj^ — in many respects the 
most fertile century since Christ was born — the people of the 
United States have been living under a Constitution of their own 
creation, under laws of their own enacting, under policies of tlieir 
own shaping. Within this century, too, the people have grown in 
numbers, in wealth, and in power as no other nation on the globe. 
Freedom an empty chimera! Equal rights a fine theory impos- 
sible to be reduced to practice! Self-government a glittering 
speculation of fanaticism! Liberty under law, and law con- 
ceived and executed in the spirit of liberty, the unsolved problem 
of statesmanship! But here they are. Here is freedom. Here is 
equal rights. Here is self-government. Here is liberty under law, 
and law moving forward to the execution of its functions in the 
spirit of liberty; and 60,000,000 of people have shared in the joy 
and triumph of it! 

It used to be said, and the charges have been repeated over and 



Of \VAi>HJNGTON'S"lNAUGUKATION. 45 

over again, that the people are incapable of managing their own 
affairs. A hundred years of such success that the record can be 
matched by no government under the sun, refutes the charge. 
Have the statesmen whom England has called into her service — 
her Peels, and Palmerstons, and Russells, and Disraelis, and Glad- 
stones, and Salisburys — during the century just closed, gone 
straighter to the mark than those whom the suffrages of a democ- 
racy here in America have clothed with authority during the same 
time — her Washingtons, her Hamiltons, her Jeffersons, her Adamses, 
her Jacksons, her Marshalls, her Marcys, her Clays, her Websters, her 
Lincolns, her Grants, her Sumners? Did Italy know better what 
she wanted, even when she had for leaders such illustrious names 
as Victor Immanuel, and Garibaldi, and Cavour? Did Germany, 
back in the best days of the old Kaiser and of Bismarck, put our 
Western democracy to shame? Nay, verily. 

It used to be charged, and the charge was the stock in trade of 
all who hated republics, that a government of the people and by 
the people, even though it might be honestly for the people, could 
not be made strong. A hundred years of unbroken self-govern- 
ment, in which every assault on the nation has been repelled, 
and every contest in which the nation has been engaged has been 
crowned with victory, meets this charge. 

This survival of our government is not because our institutions 
and our policy have not been subjected to severe tests. On the con- 
trary, we have been under terrific strains. Since the Constitution 
was set up, and Washington was inaugurated, we have had a war 
with England — God grant we may never have another — and 
a war with Mexico — in its spirit and purpose altogether to our 
shame, but overruled in the Divine Providence to the enlargement 
of the bounds of liberty — and a rebellion to suppress so gigantic 
that it shook the continent, and threw the trade and commerce of 
the world out of gear; but the people pressed their way through 
each war with foreign powers, and through the War of the Re- 
bellion, from opening gun to the last echo of triumphant salute, 
with the directness and energy of a divine decree. 

If democracy is so inherently weak, if the people are incapable of 
making a strong government, why did not England whip the United 
States in the War of 1812? Why did not Mexico send Scott and 
Taylor scampering back over the border and invade our capital, 
instead of having her own capital invaded and subdued? Why did 
not the great Rebellion succeed? Here were mighty sovereign 
states banded together and thoroughly organized — why did not 
these Confederate commonwealths break away from their allegiance 



46 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

to the republic, as the thirteen colonies broke away from their 
allegiance to the mother country? Simply because they could not 
do it. The people would not let them. The Constitution, which 
was thought to be only a "rope of sand," was found on trial to be 
a band of steel which disloyalty could not twist asunder. The 
grip of the people's hand, which it was thought would relax on the 
slightest touch, was found to be the grip of a vise. The answer the 
people gave to the gun which was fired on Fort Sumter was Appo- 
mattox, and vi^hen Grant, and Sherman, and Sheridan marched their 
victorious armies back to Washington, all the world knew that self- 
government is not the necessary synonym for weak government. 

The simple fact is that self-government, from the nature of the 
case, is the strongest government it is possible to institute. Self- 
government has its basis in the common intelligence and in the 
common conviction of what is right. The people have ownership 
in self-government. It is a part of themselves. Its public build- 
ings, its mints, its forts, its arsenals, its ships, its properties of 
whatever kind are their own. What other authorities on the globe 
would dare to trust everything to the good judgment and fidelity 
of the people, as the authorities of this nation do ? Here we 
are, 60,000,000 of us, filling up the vast space which stretches 
away from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the lakes to 
the gulf, possessing an area, including Alaska, of more than 
three and one-half millions of square miles, with our local 
pride and prejudice, and with our varied and often diverse inter- 
ests, yet we have only about twenty-five thousand soldiers all 
told, or one soldier to 2,400 citizens. In Italy, almost hopelessly 
burdened with debt, they think they must have one soldier to each 
group of eighty citizens. Think how much this one fact means in 
the way of lessened restraints on individual movements, of lessened 
drain on industry in the way of taxes, and of increase in the energy 
which goes into the development of material resources and the 
promotion of the general welfare. It is because the government is 
ours, and we administer it. 

At the same time, under our Constitution, and with the spirit 
of loyalty which is in all hearts, that little army of 25,000 men 
symbolizes all the force resident in 60,000,000 of people. In an 
emergency calling for it, all the force there is resident in 60,000,000 
of people would be available for defense. It is because the people 
are intelligently self-respecting. It is because the people cherish 
free institutions and arc bound they shall be maintained. It is 
because the flag of the republic is their flag, and they will not 
permit it to be trailed in the dust nor dishonored. 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 47 

What would the Sultan of Turkey, the Czar of Russia, the 
Emperor of Austria, the Kaiser of Germany give, or rather what 
would each of these sovereigns not give, for a loyalty and a 
strength like this? How long would some of the provinces and 
states over which these rulers wield their sceptres, which are liter- 
ally rods of iron, abide in their allegiance if the grip of autocratic 
power were to be relaxed? But why does not California break 
away from the Union? Why does not Louisiana? Or Florida? Or 
New York? Or Minnesota? Neither of tiiem wants to do it. 
Neither of them could do so, even if she wished it; but neither of 
them wants to do it. This government rests upon a firm founda- 
tion, for it rests on the confidence and affection of the people. It 
is impossible to organize a government on a firmer basis. The 
great republic takes its place beside the great monarchies in the 
consciousness of a strength, to say nothing of the general thrift 
and happiness, of which not one of them all can boast. 

Not mere dreamers then are those who dream of self-government, 
and who love and fondly cherish the idea of liberty regulated by law. 
Their aspirations are of God, and they have immortal basis in the 
constitution of men. Everywhere, the wide world over, be it in the 
heart of Africa, or far-away Japan, or China, or India, or in the 
European States, or in the Canadas, or Me.xico, or South America, 
wherever men toil unrequited, or bow to injustice, or feel the irk- 
some limitations of tradition and caste and custom, let them dream 
on and hope on; for though their vision tarry it shall come by 
and by, and man shall enter into his heritage and be a man, one 
exercising his rights with due regard to the rights of others — be the 
master of his own activities. One by one the kings shall lay aside 
their robes of purple, and throw down their sceptres, and retreat 
into the insignificance and obscurity the most of them deserve. 
One by one the old thrones, whose shadows have smitten the state 
like a curse of vengeance, shall topple to their fall, and be gath- 
ered up and exhibited as curious ancient relics in the museums. 
One by one the puny princes, and the princelings, and the aris- 
tocracies, save as they are aristocracies of culture and character 
and moral force, shall come to be reckoned in any other way than 
as co-partners with the people in the administration of government. 
Royal houses have had their uses in times past; there may be royal 
houses which have their uses still; but to one schooled under a 
regulated democracy, schooled in liberty, sovereigns who rule by 
no right but the right of birth, seem only so much rubbish to be 
gently removed. They will be. Man is coming. It is not alone 
for ourselves, but for all the world, our republic exists. 



48 CHICAGO'S CENTEAWIAL CELEBRATIOX 

This, perhaps, is one of the largest services rendered to man- 
kind by the success of our " holy experiment" in self-government. 
There is not a throne anywhere on the globe to-day which stands 
so secure as it would have done had it not been' for the great 
republic. There is not an aristocracy in existence whose assump- 
tions are so arrogant, and whose prescriptive rights exercised with 
such a high hand, and whose treatment of the masses whose blood 
the}' suck for their own fattening, is so defiant as would have been 
the case had the United States never come into existence, had they 
gone to pieces under mismanagement, or jealousy, or mob-out- 
break. There is not a group or class of honest toilers among 
any of the nations of Europe whose members do not front life 
with more possibilities and better prospects, in virtue of what the 
people of America have done to vindicate the manhood of man in 
this high business of self-government. 

Our authorities have not been in the habit of intermeddling in 
the affairs of other people. We follow our own citizens and throw 
over them the protecting aegis of the government wherever they 
go, be it to Naples, or Vienna, or Constantinople, or Dublin, or the 
prison cells of Siberia, or the island of Samoa. Our merchants 
and our missionaries always feel that in case of emergency they 
have the tremendous force of their great nation behind them. 
But the influence of the republic on foreign powers and peoples 
does not come from the exercise of force, nor from the interven- 
tion of sharpness and cunning. England, France, Germany, Rus- 
sia, Austria, Italy, Turkey, never quite dare to trust each other 
out of sight, and it is an unaccustomed state of affairs when they 
do not have some delicate question of diplomacy on hand, or when 
some of these powers do not think they have occasion to file pro- 
tests against what some or all of the others are doing or propose 
to do. What an everlasting torment to them is the question of the 
balance of power. How they have to watch Constantinople, and 
Egypt, and India! What a simple thing in the way of a misstep 
might precipitate France and Germany, or England and Russia, 
or Austria and Turkey into war! 

The influence on the world of this nation, v/ith its free institu- 
tions and its equal laws and its independent life, has other expla- 
nations. It comes from what the nation is. This is the secret of the 
uplifting might and of the encouragement which those who are not 
fortunate enough to share the privileges of a free form of govern- 
ment find when they turn their eyes upon the great republic. It is 
a city set on a hill. It is a light whose beams penetrate wherever 
there is sufficient intelligence to discriminate between just and 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 49 

unjust laws. There is no corner of civilization so remote that it is 
not reached and influenced by the splendor of this example of self- 
government. It is an argument for the equal rights and sover- 
eignty of the people which cannot be overturned by any sophistries 
of selfish rulers, nor by any sneers of aristocracy. Brought into 
contrast with what is here experienced, the limitations of arbitrary 
power, and the burdens imposed by hereditary authority seem more 
hateful and unendurable. As Turkey is a great object lesson to the 
world in tyranny and indifference to the welfare of the people at 
large, so this republic of ours is a great object lesson to the world 
of what men can do in a state when left to the unobstructed man- 
agement of their own affairs. The great republic is pioneering the 
world into self-government. 

In view of all this, two grounds out of many for devout grati- 
tude to Almighty God deserve special mention. One is the char- 
acter of the men raised up to organize this nation and set the 
machinery of our government in motion. What men they were! 
How manifestly they were chosen of God to discharge this high 
and sacred function. Who that believes Abraham was called of 
God to fulfill a particular mission, or that Moses was singled out to 
discharge one of the highest duties ever devolved on a human 
being, or that Columbus was fitted and trained by a higher power 
for his work of discovery, or that Martin Luther was an agent of 
Providence for bringing about the Reformation, or that the Pilgrim 
Fathers vi-ere guided by a light borne in on them from behind 
the stones of Plymouth Rock, can question for a moment that 
George Washington was selected of God, and anointed with wis- 
dom from on high, to lead this American people out into indepen- 
dence, and then to cement the bonds of unity, and give the nation, 
organized under a Constitution which Mr. Gladstone has called 
"the most remarkable work known to modern times to have been 
produced by human intellect, at a single stroke, so to speak, in its 
application to political affairs," its magnificent projection along the 
lines of liberty regulated by law. He had splendid co-laborers— 
Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison, Franklin, Sherman, Morris — 
but to this man, whom we justly call the Father of his Country, it 
was given to be the master-soul of them all; and the more we study 
him and gather up the details of his life and character, his trust in 
God, his integrity, his fidelity, his unselfishness, his patience, his 
courage, his quick vision of what the exigency called for, his unfail- 
ing wisdom, his sublime patriotism — the more we feel we have 
cause to recognize the goodness of God in the gift of him to the 
people in that supreme hour, when what he was and did would tell 
on the nation and on the world for all time to come. 



00 CHICAGO'^ CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

The other special ground of gratitude to Almighty God, which 
it would be little short of a crime not to mention, is the inestimable 
privilege of life under our free institutions. Not till one goes abroad, 
and by actual experience and observation of the way things go in 
other countries, is it possible to appreciate to the full the advan- 
tages afforded under a republic. There is an openness, an outlook, 
a liberty to go and come at will, a wealth of opportunity, in the 
land of free institutions to be found nowhere else. There are not 
the disabilities one encounters in a system of society which is 
organized on the basis of caste; and one is not all the time running 
up against thrusting traditions. They only are masters who are 
made masters by the free suffrage of the people, and in the admin- 
istration of law they must keep within the limits prescribed bylaw. 
Nowhere else on the face of the globe can men say with so much 
fitness and truth: "The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places, 
and we have a goodly heritage." Under God it has all come to us 
through the foresight and the trials and the sacrifices of a long line 
of illustrious men, reaching down from the hour when the foot of 
the first brave settlers touched these American shores to this present 
moment, of whom the most radiant and commanding figure is — 
George Washington. 



PROF. DAVID SWING. 

AT CENTRAL MUSIC HALL. 

Our fathers trusted in Thee.— Ps. xxil.: 4. 

Our fathers must often have said to each other: "Those who 
shall be alive a hundred years from this time will see here a great 
nation." When the inauguration of Washington had taken place, 
and friends had scattered to theirhomes, many a white-haired man 
must have said: "I should love to see this republic a hundred 
years from now." It is our privilege at last to look down upon a 
hundred-year pageant. The past century makes a noble mountain 
whose summit is near the clouds, but from which height we can 
look down and take in a delightful or a thrilling landscape. We 
cannot, in an hour, note all the details of the picture. There are 
upon earth some hill-summits which overlook a city; heights upon 
which standing one can point out the sea, the harbor, the ships of 
war, the spires of cathedrals, the parliament houses, the parks of 
trees and flowers, the bridges over the canals or rivers, the monu- 
ments reared in memory of genius or of the heroes, but there is no 



OF WASHIXGTON'S INAUGURATION. 61 

eye that would not weary with work and tears before it could from 
this hundred-year mountain see and perceive fully all that lies in 
the great vale below. There is a limit to the eye and the ear. 
However great be the scene or the music, the senses at last sink 
and sigh out the complaint that infinity is too great for man. 
Thus to-day memory sinks before its task, and laments that it 
cannot hold infinity in its arms. Not in one glance can the mind 
see the riches of many generations. 

The men who assembled to worship for an hour before they 
should proceed to inaugurate the first American President were 
great men, not for that time, but for any time. One cannot think 
of those signers of the Declaration, cannot name the Franklins, the 
Hamiltons, Jeffersons, Adamses, and Madisons, without feeling 
that there was something in the last half of the eighteenth century 
that was able to turn great minds along paths of great political 
usefulness. 

After great minds are born into the world it is yet a question 
what paths they will select and pursue. Angelo was as great as 
Shakespeare or Lord Bacon, but he differed from them by living in a 
period which made him choose art as a calling. Thus Shakespeare 
was led into the drama. Literature in its many forms took posses- 
sion of many Drydens, Goldsmiths, and Addisons, and made the 
seventeenth century restore and enlarge all the splendor of the 
classic states. France, England and Spain ruled the world in that 
period, and when to the English literary names one adds Cer- 
vantes, Fenelon, Bossuet, Moliere, and Racine, one will see that that 
triple empire was literature and magnificence. The classic litera- 
ture and arts had indeed returned, but they had come back only to 
prove over again that nations cannot live upon beauty alone. The 
millions must have better food than the books of Louis XIV. and 
Queen Elizabeth. All the Shakespeares and Racines and Addisons 
had failed to benefit mankind. The eighteenth century opened 
with its sky all clouded. When the next procession of great minds 
came they were not carrying in their hands only the dramas and 
poems of the ancients and the moderns, not the brush of Raffaelle 
and the chisel of Angelo, but the sublime emblems of the liberties 
of the people. 

Those who have time to trace in the past the causes of final 
results can easily find what power had risen to make statesmen 
arise instead of artists and essayists. We have time only to look 
at results. We cannot go to find who put the seeds into the ground 
in the cold spring; we can only go in midsummer and look upon 
the wide open blossoms. Behold In the last half of the eighteenth 



53 C/Z/CICO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

century the plants of freedom in full bloom! Men and women by 
the thousands had set sail from the Netherlands, from France, 
from Germany, from England, to find in the New World the arena 
of a reasonable life. 

The laws of poetry and art, the greatness of royal descent and 
of court etiquette, had declined rapidly under an uprising study of 
the laws of human welfare. The same pressure which was turning 
tens of thousands toward America was exerting its power upon 
literature and oratory, and as if by magic, Addison had disappeared 
to make room for Pitt and Burke; Goldsmith and Dryden had 
been quietly superseded by Benjamin Franklin and Alexander 
Hamilton. Even the Christian religion became a higher law of 
earthly life, and the clergyman had a musket, and often was the 
Bible draped with the flag of democracy. 

Many royalists had indeed migrated thither, but by the law of 
natural selection the majority of those who came to America came 
to get what they had the least of at home. Royalty has never 
been a good traveler. Its home has been, for the most part, too 
adequate to make a new world either a necessity or a pleasure. 
The spirit of liberty passed over Europe and selected those who 
were kindred to itself, and thus the three millions who lived on the 
Atlantic coast one hundred years ago were either liberty-lovers out 
and out, or they were loyalists, who were willing to have homes 
3,000 miles away from their king. The Puritans, the Dutch, the 
Virginians, the Quakers and the Huguenots had been away from 
Europe for one hundred years, and the new exiles that were 
landing each month soon learned liberty from those who had been 
born and reared in the New World. 

Not many of the three millions had ever thought of forming an 
independent nation, but they had learned to think of relations of a 
fraternal kind. All v/ere willing to think of England as the 
mother country; but when it became evident that England was not 
so much a mother as a heartless collector of taxes, the idea of inde- 
pendence grew rapidly. The thought went from a whisper to an 
open word, from an open word to a shout, from a shout to a battle, 
from the battle to the republic. 

We can now see that there was in the last half of the eighteenth 
century a power that was making new forms of greatness, the great- 
ness of political ideas and of political leaders. This new spirit of 
freedom touched France, but it came too suddenly, and found that 
that country had not been slowly fashioning any Franklins and Wash- 
ingtons. The Americans had come chiefly from the land of Bacon- 
ian reason, the French from the times of romance, gayety and 



OF IVASl/INGTON'S INAUGURATION. 53 

ardent passions. When the fever of liberty touched America, her 
sons sat down and drew up a declaration as calm as the Sermon on 
the Mount and almost as truthful; but when the fever of freedom 
touched Paris, the men called wise were found to have no wisdom, 
philosophers were found to be madmen, and while our colonies had 
a slow and sure revolution, France had only a gigantic massacre. 
Paris had indeed no religion, but had she a religion, it, too, would 
have been one of passion and insanity like that of the Turks under 
Mahomet IV. It will not do to ascribe all of the bloodshed of Paris 
to the atheism of the leaders, for the memory does not forget that 
Paris was the city in which 50,000 citizens were murdered in one 
night in the name of the Christian religion. Two reigns of terror 
blacken the memory of France: One was in the name of atheism, 
but the more dreadful was in the name of a Christian creed. 
What our nation should bless God for to-day is that our one hundred 
years came up from minds calm and thoughtful, and not from the 
fanatics who murder first, and thus exhaust the only force they 
possess — that of passion. The French could not do in one sum- 
mer what our colonists had been meditating over and experiment- 
ing upon for more than a hundred and fifty years. 

The founding of our nation was not merely a religious act: it 
was also the most intellectual movement of any epoch. Many 
forms of Christianity came, and each was intolerant toward the 
other; but this hostility was satisfied if only some geographical 
line was drawn between the sects. Those lines were like our state 
or county lines — not harmful to national business. The Pilgrim 
Fathers sailed for Virginia, but were compelled to land and settle 
at Plymouth. The Quakers, who came afterward, were expelled, 
and thus came the founding of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia. 
As soon as Roger Williams began to teach the equality of all hon- 
est Christian beliefs, he and his followers were expelled from the 
Massachusetts district, and thus came Rhode Island. All of the 
odds and ends of religious belief drifted to Rhode Island, and led 
Cotton Mather to say that Rhode Island possessed everything 
except " Roman Catholics and Christians." Meanwhile the Dutch 
were concentrating in New York Bay, and were buying land of all 
the early settlements; this was the least religious and the most 
purely commercial effort. Henry Hudson taught the Indians to 
drink rum. The first master of the Dutch settlement bought of the 
Indian chief the whole district of Manhattan for $24. The name 
Manhattan means "the place of drunkenness," but so vague is a 
word that this term does not tell us who was most frequently 
drunk — the white man or the Indian. In those long and slow 



54 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

years the Carolinas contained many exiles from France, and Vir- 
ginia belonged rather to the aristocracy of England. So broken 
up were power and opinion that little New Haven and Plymouth 
were independent republics as to each other. 

Thus religions and political ideas lay along the Atlantic like the 
patches of grains, trees, and grass on the English hillsides. But 
the wars with the Indians comjjelled these patches of white opinion 
to become one against the tomahawks and arrows of Indian opin- 
ion, and for 150 years the early lines continued fading, and New 
England and New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the Carolinas 
were imperceptibly blending into one nation. 

From whatever point of Europe the colonists had come, they 
had come in the name of a few ideas, which led the Swedes, the 
Germans, the French, the English, along one general highway of 
thought. The document which the Pilgrims drew up and signed 
in the Mayflower were the words which all the heterogeneous crowd 
would have signed at any time in the seventeenth or eighteenth 
centuries. These words: " We do by these presents solemnly and 
mutually, in the presence of God and of each other, covenant and 
combine ourselves into a civil body politic for our better ordering 
and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by 
virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal 
laws, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be 
thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the 
colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience," 
would have formed the written basis of all those ship loads, but 
those forty-one men who signed that document signed for the 
whole of two centuries before Washington, and for the vast nation 
and multitude of to-day. 

What a picture would that be could our times replace that ship 
upon the Atlantic and permit us all to look into that cabin and see 
those exiles sitting in conference over the kind of paper which 
should guide their conduct when they reached the land of their 
noble dreams. The Mayflower needed no steam-engine, for a vessel 
carrying men who v^fere meditating on the founding of a free state 
should not hurry over the waves — the sails were rapid enough. 
Men having upon their minds so great a problem need nothing 
so much as the solitude and leisure of the ocean. The ship sailed 
for sixty-five days, but the speed was not too slow; the little ship 
was carrying a continent and a republic. It contained the destiny 
of sixty millions. In that wonderful patchwork of ideas a relig- 
ious patch was always visible in the fabric. Reliance was divided 
equally between the militia and Divine Providence, and when war 



OF WA SUING TON'S INAUGURATION. 55 

had begun at Boston, and Washington had only a ton of powder, 
and when his recruits were deserting by hundreds, his heart had to 
rest for months in Divine Providence alone. In one instance the 
General had to endure the heart-breaking picture of eight militia 
regiments flying before seventy British soldiers. This was Sept. 
13. 1776, in the opening days of the long war. 

Benjamin Franklin had, in his early life, made great sport of the 
clergy, and to avoid trouble for his opinions he went to New York 
and then to Philadelphia, where speech was more free; but Frank- 
lin remained quite true to the common faith in a divine hand as the 
chief reliance. When the Continental Congress was called in the 
Quaker town the opening service was read from the Episcopal 
Book of Common Prayer, thus revealing the fact that, as many 
colonies had combined for one liberty, so many creeds had met to- 
gether in one God of men and of nations. That which bound 
Pennsylvania to Massachusetts in politics bound them also in re- 
ligion, and thus the year which inaugurated Washington was the 
year which saw Puritan and Episcopalian and Quaker blend into 
one. Then came not only a union of states, but a union of sanctu- 
aries. Christians were made brothers at the altar by being made 
brothers in the battle-field. On the day in which thirteen colonies 
became one country, thirteen creeds became one religion. Our 
Christian brotherhood began in the union of colonies. All that 
power of all forms which now comes up before our minds at the 
mention of the word "America," is here to-day simply because 
thought or knowledge is power. The new thought and new wis- 
dom which in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were rapidly 
springing up in a new and vast continent were the hope of England, 
but to secure that hope all this western power must be laid at the 
feet of England. America must be nothing but England's great farm. 
For more than one hundred years the colonies were forbidden to 
manufacture anything. Premiums were paid to colonists, but they 
must manufacture nothing. England offered to supply slaves that 
the farm work might be done by a cheap pro.xy. Queen Elizabeth 
was a partner in a company for supplying the colonies with slaves. 
The succeeding rulers of England took up the dreadful business 
where death made Elizabeth let it fall. Charles II. renewed all 
slave charters; the Duke of York was president of a vast slave- 
stealing company, and in 17 13 England secured from the other 
empires the monopoly of this trade, and at the time of Washing- 
ton's inauguration England had stolen from Africa 1,500,000 of 
negroes, 200,000 of whom had died of suffocation in the holds of 
the ships that were tossing about between Africa and the American 
coast. 



56 CHICAGO'S CE.VTENXIAL CELEBRATION 

Thus England was preparing America to be her agricultural con- 
tinent. It must secure all its manufactured articles from England, 
and must export its cotton and products only to her. It must buy 
its imports of only English ships. The colonies were forbidden to 
buy tea of a Dutch or Spanish ship. The women of the colonies 
were so aroused that they quit the drinking of tea. At last the 
long and unlimited despotism ended when fifty Boston-made In- 
dians ran down with a gay war-whoop, and boarding a British 
vessel emptied its cargo of tea into the Atlantic in the sight of five 
or six thousand spectators. In each of these crises some colony 
would appoint a day of prayer. Sometimes it was Virginia, some- 
times it was Carolina, sometimes it was New England that hurried 
to God's house. Two years before the war began the Virginia 
House of Burgesses resolved that the wrongs done any one colony 
must be considered as a wrong done to all. Thus were the seeds 
of union sown. 

Thus for five generations did power of mind, of soul, of wealth, 
of a broad and free religion, accumulate on this side of the sea. 
England demanded that every ship that sailed should transfer to 
the foreign throne all the proceeds of this New World. The slow re- 
action against this process of beggaring a continent to enrich a 
foreign island was what was called at last the War of the Revolu- 
tion. That event came slowly out of the reflection and wrongs of 
the entire colonial past. 

A few of the greatest Englishmen declared in Parliament that 
the English despotism must end in war and in separation of the 
colonies from the mother countr)'. William Pitt left his sick room 
to raise his voice once more in Parliament, and among his eloquent 
words came this sentence: "I have read Thucydides, and have 
studied and admired the master states of the world, and I must de- 
clare that for solidity, force of sagacity, and wisdom of conclusion, 
under such a complication of different circumstances, no nation or 
body of men stand in advance of the General Congress at Philadel- 
phia. All attempts to impose despotism upon such men will be 
vain. We shall be forced ultimately to retract. Let us retract 
while we can, not when we must." His words were unheeded, for 
the English kings and aristocrats had been so long accustomed to 
ruling what they called a rabble that no new difficulty was to be 
feared in the weak colonists over the deep. Burke said: "England 
has so long sheared sheep that she thinks now to shear a wolf is 
the same task." King George, instead of doubling his wisdom, 
only doubled his wrath, and thus came those battles which 
raged along the Atlantic coast a hundred years ago. The sins of 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 57 

England were mountain high, and therefore the colonial armies 
marched and toiled in the name of snow-white justice. 

Wonderful scene! The hurrying home of Americans in London, 
the final call of Franklin upon Edmund Burke, the words of 
Franklin to Burke, that now England would lose her thirteen colo- 
nies; the journey of Washington to take charge of the volunteers 
around Boston; the daily practice of the militia; the raising of the 
new flag, the stripes without any stars; the councils held in France 
to plan some outcome for the New World; the secret councils in 
Spain for opposing England and aiding America; the efforts of the 
Dutch to retain their New Amsterdam for traffic; the inflamed zeal 
of American religion; the gigantic spirit of the whole world's new 
era, combine to make a page in history which has not often come in 
the checkered life of our race. 

The impressiveness of the far-off scene lies as much in its mate- 
rial desolation as in its spiritual beauty. Our liberties were like a 
beautiful flower struggling to live in a desert or among rude 
trampling brutes. 

Our recent Generals — Grant, Sherman, and even the Confederate 
Gen. Lee, suffered no such long drawn-out adversity as attended 
Washington for seven long years. His army often melted away by 
desertion more rapidly than it grew by enlistment. In a little 
skirmish in which he lost four men, two of them had frozen to 
death on the way to battle. Some regiments were shoeless and 
almost foodless. In one regiment of six or seven hundred, only 
ninety men had guns, and only seven guns had bayonets. Wash- 
ington on one occasion cried over the dead on his battle-field. Every 
detail pointed toward tears. The ragged clothing, the bare feet, 
the poor weapons, the poor food, the long-delayed pay, the long 
absence from home, and then death; these formed a composition 
that made Washington weep. 

So poor were the colonies, so hidden the outcome, that the money 
paid the soldiers was only printed slips of paper, and so worthless 
that a pair of shoes could not be bought for less than one hundred 
dollars. When we remember that Washington was about forty-four 
years old, in life's prime, fond of the pleasures of the world, an 
athlete, fond of the hunt and the chase, that he led that forlorn 
army for seven years, for six years never took time to make a visit 
to his estate at Mount Vernon, worked without pay, endured the 
constant distrust of many and the abuse of many, the memory 
winds up by bringing us into the presence of amoral hero who had 
escaped from fiction to live in a blessed reality. Three great 
objects gave us our liberties: France, Washington, and God. 



58 CHICAGO'S CENTEXNIAl. CELEBRATION 

France poured new troops and money around the American hero, 
the hero re-inspired his faithful soldiers, God held Washington and 
his army, America and France in the hollow of His hand. Ireland, 
France, Spain, and India all combined to draw from England's 
resources and mock her pride. Reading the signs of the times 
Washington hurried by day and night in his investment of New 
York, and in one month after this final marching of our little army 
began the British army surrendered, and England was conquered 
and our country was free. 

Thus out of that poverty, those rags, the ashes which King 
George derided, came this Cinderella of Liberty, more beautiful in 
the reality than she was in the old classic legend, or in the modern 
story. What changes have come! Our state alone is greater 
than were all the colonies in those far off years. Our state 
could fight out in three months that battle of the Revolution; 
not only because of our material resources, but also because 
the ideas which lay in those early soldiers as only a vague hope 
lie in the minds of the present as propositions all wrought out. 
Washington had to fight in dark clouds, we live in the open sunlight 
of truth. 

Our botanists can show us a little black seed out of which a 
marvelous cluster of flowers will come in a brief summer-time, a 
cobaca-seed whose vines and blossoms will decorate a whole wall; 
history can surpass the botanist, for it can point to a little germ of 
freedom, which, planted by loving hands, has spread over a conti- 
nent, covering many states and territories with its lace-work of 
leaves and flowers. 

In that olden time, at each crisis, in each hour of success and 
calamity, some one ran to each church-bell and rang it with energy 
by day or night. In trouble men sought God in their weakness; in 
success they went to Him with their joy. Shall our magnificent 
age do less? No! Let the Union of the States be perpetual — per- 
petual also the Union of the States and the merciful God! 



THE REV. J. P. BRUSHINGHAM. 

AT THE ADA ST. M. E. CHURCH. 

I will read two scriptural passages, more as mottoes for an 
address than as a text for a sermon, viz: Joshua iv.: 21, "What 
mean these stones?" i Samuel vii.: 12, "Hitherto hath the Lord 
helped us." 

The highest monument in the world except the Eiffel Tower, 
erected for the Paris Exposition, is the Washington Monument, 



OF WASHINGTOX'S lA'AUGUXATION. 59 

a marble obelisk 555 feet high, in memory of the first President of 
the United States. Upon this 30th day of April, 1889, the Ameri- 
can people lay the foundation of another monument to the memory 
of their Washington which shall be more enduring than bronze or 
marble, for it will be the expression of heartfelt thanksgiving and 
appreciation upon the part of a truly grateful people. There has 
been a wish expressed in several directions that the date of our 
presidential inauguration be changed from March 4 to April 30, in 
order that we might thus be reminded every four years of that 
great day in the beginning of our constitutional life as a nation. 
The most lasting memorial to Washington and the Centennial will 
be built up in the hearts of a grateful people who have learned to 
love constitutional freedom. 

The name of Washington has grown with our growth, and 
strengthened with our years. History is the power that makes or 
destroys human fame. Washington has stood the test of history 
and the flight of years. When the rosy-cheeked children of gener- 
ations to come shall say to the gray-haired fathers, as they did in 
ancient Israel, What mean these stones this memorial day? the 
answer shall come like the sweet sound of distant waters, " Hith- 
erto hath the Lord helped us." 

I. We learn from this Centennial of Washington's inauguration 
a lesson of patience. When we think of a struggle for freedom, 
protracted through eight weary years against overwhelming odds, 
and brought to ultimate victory, although Washington was often 
urged to give up the contest, we indeed marvel. Gen. Grant 
— he had all things in his favor; almost unlimited resources. It 
was with him only a question of time and courage and well- 
directed force. In the Revolutionary struggle it was a question of 
faith and patience. Washington had literally to weary Great 
Britain from sending troops to America. 

Think of that convention in Philadelphia over which Washing- 
ton presided, which framed our Constitution, sitting for five long 
months with closed doors and producing one of the most notable 
written documents the world has ever seen. Our nation lives in 
the sunlight of a glorious century of constitutional self-government 
and Anglican liberty because Almighty God has worked through 
the painstaking brains of Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, 
James Madison and the other men of those times who were deter- 
mined at any cost to draft a Constitution that would stand the test 
of time. I hope the American people will learn the lesson of 
patient thoroughness. 

If the Old World has taunted us with anything justly in our own 



60 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

day, it is with superficiality in our work. Young friends, let us 
lay the foundation of mental and moral progress broad and deep 
and strong. Be patient and persistent with yourselves and with 
your life work. Be patient with your reforms. All great reforma- 
tion is of slow growth. If our country is not what we would like 
it to be, let us say by the grace of God it shall be what it ought to 
be. Every foe shall be subdued. The slave power has fallen be- 
fore the uplifted hand of retributive justice; the doom of alcohol- 
ism is sealed. Washington suppressed the whisky rebellion in 
Pennsylvania. An aroused public conscience will suppress an- 
other and more wide-spread liquor conspiracy, whose lines of 
power run through the entire web and woof of our social, economic 
and governmental fabric. 

2. Another lesson from Washington and the Centennial is the 
lesson of self-sacrificing patriotism. He loved his country not in 
word simply, but in deed; he not only served as Commander-in- 
Chief of the Army without salary, but was ready to sacrifice his 
private fortune to the great cause of freedom. He refused to be 
crowned king, as did Caesar at the Lupercal, but Washington re- 
fused with unfeigned sincerity. He stepped down from a greater 
than a kingly throne, the free ruler of a free people, in order to 
form a noble precedent for his native land. No greater magna- 
nimity has been known in the history of the world. He sacrificed 
his personal preferences and personal friendships to the public 
good. Personally, his heart was melted toward Maj. Andre, the 
spy, who begged, not for his life, but for honorable execution; but 
loyalty to law, loyalty to the land he loved, triumphed over every 
other consideration. 

At the close of the Revolutionary War, when difficulty arose be- 
tween England and France, Washington was urged to take sides 
with the land of Lafayette; but hov/ever grateful he may have 
felt toward those who had helped us in a struggle for indepen- 
dence, he announced the great policy of America, no interference 
v^rith foreign disputes and European warfare. As a soldier and 
statesman he felt that the interests of his own land must be 
guarded zealously first and always. Just as a father watches over 
his children, the eye of Washington was ever upon the thirteen 
original states. Napoleon's star of destiny was just rising when 
Washington's passed the horizon; but what a contrast! Napoleon 
had no equal as a military genius, but his hopes and ambitions all 
centered in self. Had he followed the example of Washington, he 
might have been loved at home and honored abroad as patriot, 
soldier and statesman. 



OF WASHINGTON'S IXAUGUKATION. 61 

Let the mammon-seeking, self-seeking, office-hunting tendency 
of our age, learn a lesson from that man who never sought an office, 
either civil or political. Said Daniel Webster at Bunker Hill 
Monument: " If our American institutions had done nothing more 
than furnish to the world the character of Washington, it would 
have entitled them to the respect of the world." 

3. Another lesson suggested by this hour of patriotism is a 
lesson in religion, a lesson in Providence. Who doubts but that 
Washington was the child of Providence, that this entire nation has 
been divinely guided ? It is said that this nation was born in the 
cabin of the Mayflower when the Pilgrim Fathers signed their 
memorable compact. But liberty does not spring full armed, like 
Minerva from the brow of Jupiter; liberty is a growth, its roots go 
back to the rise of the Italian free cities, to the Crusades which 
carried freedom to France and thence to England and thence to 
America. We must look back to the Magna Charta vi^rested from 
the hands of King John at Runnymede, to the translation of the 
Scriptures by John Wycliffe, to the invention of the printing press, 
and the Reformation of Luther. Liberty in church and state is a 
very long chain with many links forged in heaven. 

The roots of American nationality go back to Leyden and 
Amsterdam, where the exiled Pilgrims prayed for liberty of con- 
science and freedom to worship God. Puritanism, notwithstand- 
ing early extravagances, is the back-bone of Republicanism. The 
great Virginian had an unfaltering trust in Providence throughout 
the long and painful struggle with England. He knew how to 
kneel in prayer at the birth-throes of a nation. In the hours of 
darkness and well-nigh of despair he knew the way to God. In the 
day of his triumph he did not forget to look thankfully to the God 
of all battles and of all victories. 

As you hear the bells ringing this glad morning, remember that 
one hundred years ago the churches of the new nation were 
thronged with devout worshipers; remember that after President 
Washington vi^as inaugurated in Federal Hall, the company imme- 
diately retired to church at high noon for divine worship; remem- 
ber that about the first act of the new Congress was to appropriate 
money to print 20,000 copies of the King James version of the Bible. 
The roots of our liberties, therefore, reach down deep into the soil 
of faith in God. With the revival of patriotism may there come to 
us as a nation a deeper devotion and a holier, heart-felt faith. 

It was commonly believed that Washington had a charmed life. 
An aged Indian chieftain came once to look upon the man whom 
he believed the Great Spirit shielded. He himself was detailed, 



62 anCAGO'S C£Xr£.\\V/.4L C£L£BM.I r/ox 

together with other braves, for the specific work of taking Wash- 
ton's life. Many carefully armed rifle shots failed to do the work 
at Monongahela. The aged Indian wished to fix his eyes upon the 
man whom he believed the Great Spirit shielded from well-aimed 
bullets. Superstition! No, Providence. So God will shield any 
nation who puts an unfaltering trust in Him. Said Garfield when 
Lincoln was assassinated: "God reigns and the government at 
Washington still lives." Yes, and it will live so long as we are true 
to our trust. 

Under God we have crossed the threshold of the most magnifi- 
cent century in the world's history. When Chancellor Livingstone 
opened the Bible at old Federal Hall, one hundred years ago, 
George Washington, having pressed the sacred page, threw back 
his august head and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said: "So 
help me God." Let that be our prayer for a century to come. 
The great man laid himself down to die at Mount Vernon and said: 
" I am not afraid to go." 

" His life was gentle, and the elements 
So mixed in him that nature might stand up 
And sav to all the world, ' This was a man." " 



THE REV. H. W. THOMAS, D.D. 

AT m'vICKER's theatre. 

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. — Psalms xxxiii.: 12. 

In the natural order of the afifections, the love of self appears 
first. Then comes the larger love of home and friends, of lan- 
guage and literature, of laws and institutions. Over all these is 
lifted up the flag of a country, and hence, among the higher senti- 
ments, patriotism must be regarded as the most noble. It is a part 
of religion. 

In no other land should this sentiment be more soundly cher- 
ished than in this New World between the great oceans. We have 
just reached the close of the first hundred years of our national 
life. Many of the governments across the sea had perished, and 
the others were old and battle-worn long before this continent was 
discovered. Here, one hundred years ago, our fathers fought for 
freedom, and in prayers and tears and blood they laid the founda- 
tions for the first and best government on earth; a home to which 
the poor and the oppressed millions of the over-crowded countries 
of the Old World might come and enjoy the priceless blessings of 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 63 

civil and religious liberty; and hereupon these foundations we and 
the coming generations should proudly go on and complete the 
noble structure, the ideal democracy in which all these many peo- 
ples and languages and religions shall in the ages to come be one 
great free nation, with one flag, the "Stars and Stripes," and one 
religion, the love of God and man. 

And hence no apology is needed for bringing such a subject 
into the pulpit on this Sabbath, so near our National Centennial. 
The people in tliis land are wise in emphasizing such an event as 
an occasion for thanksgiving and patriotic enthusiasm. There is 
little danger of going too far, or of transcending the grandeur and 
the importance of our country's possibilities and welfare; but v/e 
may easily fail to appreciate our privileges and responsibilities. 

Each to-day is the child of some yesterday. We can understand 
the present of any time only by knowing the past out of which it 
has come, and hence history is the great teacher in human affairs. 
But the events of the world are so closely related that history can- 
not well be studied in isolated periods, and hence the history of 
our country must be studied as the continuation under new con- 
ditions or as the outgrowth of the history of the countries of 
Europe. 

One of the strange facts of our world is that this great conti- 
nent should have remained so long unknown; that the civilization 
of Egypt, and Babylon, and Greece, and Rome should have come 
and gone, and Christ should have lived and died nearly fifteen 
centuries before this Western world was discovered. It is true 
that traces of an extinct race, higher than the savage tribes, still 
exist; but the continent was not discovered until the ships of 
Columbus reached the West Indies, only 400 years ago. 

That we may have a clear outline view of our country, let us 
first trace some of the progressive steps by which we have come to 
be the owners of so large a part of this New World. Taking the 
discoverers in their order, the Spanish were the first: Columbus 
discovered the island of San Salvador in 1492, and took possession 
in the name of Spain. Ponce de Leon discovered Florida upon an 
Easter Day in 1512, and, finding the land covered with flowers, he 
called it Florida. De Soto discovered the Mississippi River, 154 1. 
Cortez, with a little army, landed upon the coast of Mexico in 1521, 
and, pressing his way inland, conquered the country and annexed 
it to Spain. 

Five years after the discovery of the West Indies by Columbus, 
or in 1497, the Cabots discovered the eastern coast of North Amer- 
ica, and took possession in the name of England. 



64 CHICAGO'S CEXTEXXIAL CELEBRATION 

The French were a little later, but succeeded in acquiring vast 
possessions. Verrazzano explored the coast of Nova Scotia. Then 
came others along the St. Lawrence River and the region now 
occupied by Canada. La Salle followed the great lakes, crossed 
over the region now known as Michigan and Wisconsin to the 
shores of the upper Mississippi, and sailed down that river to the 
Gulf of Mexico. This was in the year 1682, and he took all this 
vast region over which he had passed in the name of France, call- 
ing it the Province of Louisiana. Of course Spain had a prior 
right of possession to part of it, but this was not known to 
La Salle. 

And thus we see that what is now our country was at first held 
by three great nations of Europe. England claimed the eastern 
coast from Maine to Florida, and, English-like, claimed and wanted 
the whole continent; but Spain had a right to Mexico and Florida 
and all the great Southwest territory reaching on to the Pacific 
Ocean. And the French had the two great rivers, the St. Lawrence 
and the Mississippi, from their source to their outlets, including 
the great chain of lakes lying between; and under the name of the 
Province of Louisiana claimed what is now Louisiana, Arkansas, 
Missouri, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Min- 
nesota, Nebraska, Colorado, Oregon, and the Territories of Dakota, 
Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington and the Indian Territory. 

These different countries made settlements. The Spanish were 
the first, settling the town of St. Augustine, Fla., 1565, the oldest 
town in America. Sir Walter Raleigh attempted settlements in 
Virginia in 1587, but failed; and the first permanent English settle- 
ment was that of Jamestown in the year 1607. The Dutch settled 
New York in 1614, calling it New Amsterdam. The Pilgrims 
landed at Plymouth in 1620, and the same year the Swedes settled 
in New Jersey. The French settled Detroit in 1670, and a few 
years later established towns and settlements in Arkansas, Ala- 
bama and Mississippi. 

And now comes the later history of the contests for the final 
possession of all these great regions. 

At the close of the long French and Indian War in 1763, France 
ceded to Spain all of the Province of Louisiana west of the Missis- 
sippi River; and then ceded to England the territory east of the 
Mississippi, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. In 
the year 1800, the Province of Louisiana on the west of the Missis- 
sippi River was receded by the Spanish to the French. In 1803, 
Napoleon I. sold all this vast region to the United States. 

We have seen that Cortez conquered Mexico in 1521; but after 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 65 

being under Spanish rule for just 300 years, or in 1821, Mexico 
revolted and gained her liberty, and became Icnown as the United 
States of Mexico. In 1836, Texas revolted against the United States 
of Mexico, and formed the Republic of Texas, and was admitted 
to the United States of America in 1845. Out of a question of 
boundary grew the Mexican War; and in the treaty of peace 
Mexico ceded to this country the old Spanish possessions, or Cali- 
fornia, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. In 1867, we bought 
Alaska from Russia — a country one-sixth as large as the whole 
United States — for over $7,000,000. 

These were the great changes by which the vast territory of 
this country has passed from the possession of different govern- 
ments to that of one. How different our history might have been 
had France and Spain held their vast possessions here! We should 
have then, as East and West, North and South, been the subjects 
of different nations; and instead of the American Revolution that 
gave us independence, we should have been part of the French 
Revolution. And upon this continent, as in Europe, England and 
France and Spain would have lain side by side with their great 
armies to protect their borders. 

It was only fifteen years after the nine years of the French and 
Indian War that settled the division of the territory of the conti- 
nent, that the War of the Revolution began. This was a war of the 
colonies against the mother country; first, by Massachusetts to 
resist oppression, and then joined by all the colonies in the heroic 
struggle for independence. There never was a cause more just 
than that of the colonies. There never was a more unequal con- 
test. The whole population of the thirteen colonies was not over 
three millions; they were poor; they had no ships of war, while Eng- 
land was mistress of the seas; they had imperfect arms and but 
little ammunition, and what was worse, they had no government. 
Only a number of colonies with a Congress that had no power to 
levy troops or raise money; and with all this there was a divided 
sentiment; a large number of the population were opposed to the 
Revolution and others were half-hearted in its support. 

Washington, who led the forces, could not risk an aggressive 
policy; he could not let his own people know how poorly his army 
was supplied; he could only harass the enemy and wait for favor- 
able opportunities to gain quick victories. Never was there better 
generalship; never a more patient and suffering army. But with 
all this, the independence of America could never have been won 
without the help of France. If American independence be a bless- 
ing to the world, then the world owes a just debt to Lafayette and 



66 CHICAGO'S CENTE.VXIAL CELEBRATION' 

the French people. France sent ship loads of muskets and cannon 
and men and ammunition; and France acknowledged our inde- 
pendence when the chances of success seemed so doubtful. Alas! 
soon poor France herself was in the dreadful agonies of revolution, 
and soon in deadly conflict with England. 

Our independence gained, the next step was the formation of a 
national government. No one saw the need of this more than 
Washington, for he had felt the weakness of the colonial adminis- 
tration in the time of the Revolution. The feeble colonies were 
poor and burdened with debt; the divided sentiment v/as not yet 
united; the ideas of state sovereignty were even then present and 
strong. The convention called to prepare a Constitution labored 
long and hard; slavery and state sovereignty were the difficulties 
to be met and overcome: the one by compromise, the other by the 
nearest approach to an ideal government ever devised by man — the 
autonomy of the states and the union of all in one nation. We 
copied our flag from the blue sky and the bright stars, and we 
modeled our Constitution after the order of the solar system; the 
sun in the center and the planets in their orbits; the Constitution 
supreme in its national sovereignty, and the states free in their 
separate spheres, but all united in the indissoluble bonds and the 
eternal strength of the Union. 

Another question to be met was that of religious liberty, and 
upon this point the framers of the Constitution ventured upon new 
ground, and showed a courage and a far-sighted wisdom and 
statesmanship that must forever challenge the gratitude of free- 
men. For 1,400 years, or since the days of Constantine, the 
church, through all its vicissitudes, had been in some way related 
to and dependent upon the state. In Catholic countries the Popes 
had often dictated to the kings; in Protestant Germany and England 
the church and state were united. The doctrine of the divine sov- 
ereignty of kings carried with it the associate thought of the sover- 
eignty of the church. If the state could not be trusted to the people 
neither could the church. But here in this New World our fathers 
broke away from the precedents of the Old World in both; they 
said: "The people are the rulers in civil affairs, and the people shall 
be kings and priests unto God in religion. The state and the 
church shall forever be separate; Congress shall pass no lavt^s to 
bind the conscience of any in matters of belief and worship." 

It was a tremendous venture of faith and courage to trust all 
the precious interests of government and religion to the reason and 
the conscience of the people; but a hundred years ago our fathers 
stepped out boldly upon that broad platform of the civil and 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 67 

religious rights of man, and time has justified the wisdom of their 
decision. Naturally enough, with this broad doctrine of the 
National Constitution, the states became conservative, and some 
of them passed severe laws against heresy. Virginia long carried 
a statute making the denial of the Trinity an offense punishable by 
fines and three years' imprisonment; and one of the New England 
states made it a criminal offense not to believe in the infallibility of 
the Bible and a vicarious atonement. But time has modified this 
severity, and we should all rejoice that an earnest, zealous concern 
has from the first been felt for the religious welfare of this land. 

And now, who were the people of those days — the fathers and 
mothers of the Revolution — and the founders of this great govern- 
ment? They were a prepared people, a people fitted for such 
responsibilities and sufferings by the e.xperiences of their ancestors 
in the countries of Europe. They had back of them the tremen- 
dous events of the Reformation and the struggles for religious 
liberty. The Puritans were fresh from the scenes of the Common- 
wealth under Cromwell, and the persecutions and banishments that 
followed. The Dutch had back of them the bloody scenes of the 
Netherlands and the cruelties of Philip the Second. The Huguenots 
had not forgotten Louis IX. and the awful massacres in France; 
and the Swedes had given their fairest sons and great king, Gus- 
tavus Adolphus, to save Germany in the darkest days of the 
"Thirty-years' War." A hundred scholars from the universities of 
Cambridge and Oxford helped lay the foundations of the early 
New England settlements. 

The progress of the United States in all lines has been a part of 
the progress of the greatest century the world has ever seen; only 
we have been more favorably situated to reap its larger results. 
Unhindered by precedents and constitutions, we started as a nation 
upon the highway of liberty; the compromise with slavery, of 1776, 
was settled by the crisis of iS6o-'63. Our free, wide territory has 
invited and welcomed emigration from all lands, and from 3,000,000 
a hundred years ago, our population has increased to 60,000,000. 
The growth of all forms of industry and the increase of wealth 
have been almost fabulous. Cities have risen up like the creations 
of magic; enough miles of railroad have been built in this country 
to reach five times around the earth. It takes 30,000 tons of twine 
each year to bind the rich sheaves that fall from the reapers that 
harvest our great fields of grain, enough in length to go around the 
earth 2,463 times. It is said that the aggregate wealth of this 
country in 1880 was $43,642,000,000; more than that of the Russian 
and Turkish empires, and the kingdoms of Sweden and Denmark, 



68 CHICAGO'S CENTEI^NIAL CELEBRATION 

Norway, Italy, South Africa, Australia, South America; and that 
our wealth exceeds that of Great Britain by $276,000,000. In no 
land in the world are the people so well fed and clothed and housed. 
We waste more in this country than the poor of some countries in 
Europe consume. 

And not only in material progress have we advanced so rapidly; 
we have shared riches in the great world-growth of knowledge; we 
have built up a mighty system of popular education, of common 
schools; we have built and endowed hundreds of colleges and uni- 
versities; we have given scholars, authors, inventors, explorers, 
travelers, statesmen, warriors, philanthropists, and, best of all, we 
have honored industry, exalted the home, and crowned wifehood 
and motherhood; we have crowned woman as queen. 

We are not yet perfect; our principles are better than our prac- 
tice; our theory of government is better than our politics; with our 
religious liberty and our many sects, half the people are without 
church homes. The poor in our great cities are crowded into mis- 
erable tenements; the criminal classes are increasing, and thou- 
sands of neglected children are growing up in ignorance and vice. 
There is much to do in all the higher directions. We are in one of 
the world's great transition periods, and it seems as if God had 
reserved this New World as the stage for the greatest drama of all 
time. Here, better than anywhere else, can the struggles for the 
higher equalities of liberty and justice and equal rights in all the 
great questions of labor and capital find their solution. Here is 
the field for universal education; and here let church and state 
remain separate, and the reason and conscience of all be free in the 
great questions of religion; and here may our public schools be 
kept forever free from the suspicion even of political or sectarian 
interference. 

"Blessed is the land whose God is the Lord," the laud that has 
the most exalted conception of God, the highest ideal of truth 
and justice and love, and the profoundest reverence for the good 
and the right. The higher realizations have not yet come; our 
world has hardly dreamed of the goodness and the greatness of 
God, and the possibilities of man as the child of God. Here let 
us exalt liberty and justice and truth and righteousness, and over 
all lift higher the flag of union and brotherhood. And beneath all 
and above all be the ever-precious Cross of Christ, the symbol of 
suffering, the pledge of victory, the star of hope, and the crown of 
day. 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 69 

MR. J. H. McVICKER. 

AT THE people's CHURCH. 

We are assembled to give our thoughts to those who planted 
the seed of the harvest of blessings our country is now enjoying, 
and, so far as in our power lies, to voice the same in praise of the 
glorious achievements of the giant minds which formed for man a 
government surpassed only by that whereby the universe is 
guided and all God's creatures shown the way to happiness. 

The inauguration of Washington as the first President of the 
United States crowned the efforts of men who had built better 
than they knew, and whose labor, when ended, did not meet with 
the favor which exists for it now, after the trial of a century. It 
was the magnetic influence of a military hero's name — he who was 
first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen 
— which held together all factions and discontents until reason 
took her seat and blended the thirteen into one. 

While lauding our forefathers for the blessing they bestowed 
upon us, let us not fall into the error of believing we have 
nothing to do for those who are to fill our places a century hence. 
The men America is honoring to-day did not monopolize all the 
good in the system they inaugurated, but left much to be done to 
perfect their work and to eradicate errors which could not be 
overcome in their day. It should be the work of the thinking men 
of the second century of American independence to review the past, 
and while applauding the good done by the contemporaries of 
Washington and their immediate followers, to ask if nothing has 
been left undone calculated to cause an unhealthy growth of that 
which may endanger all. 

If we read the signs of the times, shall we not be prompted to 
be on our guard to prevent the leading sin of mortal life, selfish- 
ness, from fastening upon our nation and building up conditions 
which caused the downfall of ancient republics? The insidious 
workings of this mortal weakness, if not checked, will permeate the 
acts of our daily life; it will occupy the pews of our churches, 
while the pulpits will not be free from it; it will control the press; 
it will fill places of honor with those only who can buy them, and it 
will encourage deceit and falsehood in our business methods. At 
the beginning of our second century the progress of this sin is 
apparent; it is tending to lower and cheapen American citizenship; 
through it, and for its use, ignorance is placed on an equality with 
intelligence, and the welfare of the country is becoming secondary 
to party prosperity. 



70 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

If we read the signs of the times and interpret them rightly, 
shall we not see that the time has come when the emblem of 
American citizenship should be in the hands only of those who can 
read and write the language of the nation, the foundation of 
which should be, henceforth and forever: intelligence, knowledge. 
"Ignorance is the curse of God; knowledge the wing wherewith 
we fly to heaven." While ours is the land of the free and the 
home of the brave, let us define what we mean by those words and 
make it plain that all who wish to share our blessings must do so 
as American citizens, having no rights and making no claim on 
account of birth or previous allegiance. 

Having grown rich as a nation, let us not become indolent, 
careless and wasteful of our inheritance; there is much for us to 
do. As American citizens we can feel no pride in our municipal 
governments, which we conduct on political and not on business 
principles, permitting them to be the nurseries of wrong-doing, 
indirectly endorsing the fallacious doctrine that governments are 
instituted only for the material and commercial, and not for tiie 
moral welfare of the governed. 

While from the evils nurtured in our municipalities we have 
reason to fear danger to our republican form of government, we 
seem to lack the courage to correct the error we all admit exists. 

As church and state are happily separated in our land, by the 
action of those we are here to honor, so it should be our work to 
have municipal and national politics divorced. This is almost a 
universal belief, and when it becomes an American principle, and 
enforced, we shall be advancing in the scale of moral manhood, 
and be more worthy of the country we boast of. 

Having freed our country from slavery in one sense, let us 
remember there is no form of it so abject as that which tends to 
blunt the intellect and dull the reasoning faculties. As theology 
loosens the shackles, politics must not be permitted to take them 
up and so use them as to degrade the unthinking many by making 
them the slaves and followers of the selfish few; we must be care- 
ful that Lincoln's words: "of the people — by the people— for 
the people," are not paraphrased and become — of, by, and for the 
politicians. 

Here, in our home — in the valley of the great Northwest, where 
the star of empire is reclining, we must not be content with the 
material wealth which has been almost forced upon us, and do 
nothing — or but little — tending to guard the country we profess 
to love from the danger which Gov. Fifer, in his proclamation, 
so truthfully pointed to. The desire to build up an American 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 71 

aristocrac)', by the concentration of great wealth in the hands of a 
few— so perceptible in our country — is creating a spirit of unrest 
and discontent with those whose labor assists in the production of 
wealth. This condition of affairs must not be left to contending 
classes for settlement, but should call forth the best efforts of the 
statesmen who desire to rank with those whom 60,000,000 of 
people are applauding to-day, as to the best way of meeting the 
issue with "justice to all and malice toward none." It is a work 
equal to that accomplished by our forefathers. 

The great West inherited none of the jealousies and bickerings 
which preceded the day when Washington was inaugurated Presi- 
dent, and which continued to linger and still strive to cling to life 
in certain sections, but circumstances have thrust upon it evils as 
great, and it now stands facing a duty as sacred as that which 
formed the colonies into a nation. It must not shrink from the 
work — its voice must be raised against selfishness and selfish sec- 
tionalism; against all selfish partyism; against all selfish state sov- 
ereigntyism; against all isms of a political nature vi^hich in anyway 
tend against nationalism. 

We have proved ourselves adepts in all matters tending to our 
material welfare; let us aim to create a desire for individuality in 
manhood, which when accompanied with free thought and inde- 
pendent action will become the bulwark of our safety. 

While we are justly proud of our system of education, let us 
reason together and ask if we cannot do more for the people than 
we are doing without overtaxing those who have perhaps too much. 
Let us see if we cannot, in our municipalities, lop off non-essen- 
tials in our present methods and substitute those of practical value; 
let us ask if we cannot extend the use of our schoolhouses to par- 
ents as well as to children; not in the traditional way of teaching 
them that twice one is two, but in a system of instruction during 
the winter evenings which will entertain, while telling them how 
to live and how to guide their children into a manhood and woman- 
hood which must tend to the moral advancement of the human 
race. The task is not beset with difficulties, and is in harmony 
with the nature of our form of government, which, while it cannot 
be paternal, has been, is, and can be more beneficent, and in more 
practical ways. 

We shall not be able to make this an ideal world, as mortal 
mind is not prepared for it; but we can better its condition by 
studying the foibles of mankind and guiding them. Our frivolities 
will continue to exist and feed on unrealities; the love of pleasure 
is inherited in our nature, changing in degree from childhood, 



73 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

youth, manhood, and old age, and should not be left for selfishness 
to feed upon. It should be the aim of government to so guide 
it as to make it an offset to the asperities and bickerings of life. 

Time will not permit of elaboration, but having glorified the 
past and pointed to work for the future, let us turn our thoughts 
to the blessings bestowed upon us, and ask which is the greatest 
that has come during the life of our country; let us look back upon 
the barbaric rocks of superstition, bigotry, and ignorance, and gaze 
on the great indentations made therein by liberal thought which 
has made its way through and from the dark ages, and now, under 
the banner of a new theology, is breaking down barriers and clear- 
ing a path for a better conception of God. 

Of all that has come to man this is the greatest blessing of our 
century — on which there is no patent, no royalty; with which no 
monopoly can be formed — but free as the air, like which it comes 
to humanity to strengthen and to nourish. As our retrospective 
view makes bright the present, so the future is gilded with rays 
from the star of Hope lighting man's progress onward to the 
Creative Power of which he is a part. 



THE REV. WILLIAM C. DeWITT. 
AT ST. Andrew's protestant episcopal church. 

Let the people praise Thee, O Lord; yea, let all the people praise Thee. 

— Psalms lxvu.: 5. 

To-day is in the highest and best sense a civil holiday: the 
looth Anniversary of the Inauguration of the first President of the 
United States. Throughout this broad land, in every state and 
territory, in every town and village of our great and glorious re- 
public, the 60,000,000 of our American people are to-day alive to 
the appreciation of the fact that a century of constitutional gov- 
ernment is completed, and that the United States of America, 
though young among the nations of the earth, is recognized as sec- 
ond to none in point of enterprise, wealth and all that goes to 
make up a prosperous and happy people. The history of the 
United States in this century past has been unique. No similar 
epoch in the history of any country, nation or government of the 
world affords a parallel instance of such rapid progress and devel- 
opment, coupled with stability and actual strength. When George 
Washington was inaugurated President of the United States ten 
decades ago he was the executive of less than four million people 
(about the number of the present inhabitants of this state). And 



OF IV A SHING TON'S IN A UG URA TION. 73 

they were a poor people whose resources had been almost drained 
in the struggle for freedom, for the rights of free men. Seventy- 
five postoffices were sufficient for the business of the nation, and 
less than two thousand miles of post routes were traveled by the 
carriers. Today the accumulated wealth of the United States is 
more than $50,000,000,000; 55,000 postoffices are not sufficient 
to meet the demands of our domestic trade, nor 380,000 miles of 
post route. Thirty-eight thousand dollars was the postal revenue 
of the United States in Washington's first year; $50,000,000 in the 
year just closed. In 1789 Washington traveled from Mt. Vernon 
to New York by carriage, by boats, horseback and on foot. No 
such thing as a railroad was known. To-day about one hundred 
and fifty thousand miles of double steel make a net work from the 
Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the lakes to the gulf. Nearly 
one-half of the railroads of the world are in the United States. 

These statistics are sufficient to indicate the tremendous 
rapidity of the growth of this nation which a century ago could 
obtain little foreign credit, had practically no home manufactories, 
and little capital to invest. 

And let us now inquire into causes. The first that suggests 
itself to the mind is the natural resources of the country; its 
mines of gold, silver, iron, lead, copper and coal; its oil wells; its 
millions of square miles of fertile soil; in short, it is productive of 
almost everything that is necessary to the well-being and progress 
of the people. But Washington, in a letter to Lafayette, pointed 
out another cause. He said: "If I can form a plan for my own 
conduct, my endeavors shall be unremittingly exerted, even at the 
hazard of former fame or present popularity, to extricate my 
country from the embarrassments in which it is entangled through 
want of credit, and to establish a general system of policy, v^^hich, 
if pursued, will insure permanent felicity to the commonwealth. 
I think I see a path clear and direct as a ray of light which leads 
to the attainment of that object. Nothing but harmony, honesty, 
industry and frugality are necessary to make us a great and happj-- 
people." It may seem to the student of American history at first 
thought that the first of these essential characteristics, harmony, has 
not been especially manifest in ourgovernment during the past one 
hundred years. Even during the two terms of Washington's presi- 
dency there was anything but unanimity of opinion and cordiality 
of support on the part of Congress and the people. Unanimously 
elected, he was in some matters, like that of maintaining neutral 
relations with France and England, almost unanimously opposed. 
He was the victim of as bitter and ungrateful partisan assault as 



74 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

ever was heaped upon any honest man. He was called upon to 
put down, by force of arms, an insurrection that threatened for 
the time being the very existence of the new government. He 
was made to feel the danger of the jealousies that arose from the 
discussions of the rights of individual states as against the sover- 
eignty of the general government. He saw the clouds of war ris- 
ing from time to time over various sections of the new confed- 
eracy, while at no time during the eight years of his office was this 
country free from foreign entanglement. And the years that fol- 
lowed, even to the present day, are full of manifestations of appar- 
ent discord among the people. But, save in two or three 
instances, that discord has been rather apparent than real, a discord 
of opinion rather than of action, stopping short of a strife destruc- 
tive to the common interests. Where there have been disagree- 
ments, there have usually been agreements to disagree, and the 
minority have quietly and honorably submitted to the will of the 
majority. The Constitution has been upheld, and the law of the 
land has been the people's rule of action. Differences of opinion, 
sometimes developing into bitter opposition, have been the result 
of sincere endeavor to further ends conceived to be conducive to 
the common weal. 

The honesty of the people is in no better way evinced than by 
the growth of our national credit ; the industry by the accumu- 
lated wealth of the nation, by our enormous and productive agri- 
cultural and manufacturing interests. It is not so easy to demon- 
strate the frugality of our citizens by present facts. But up to the 
beginning of the present generation it would hardly have been 
questioned. The prosperity of the present is the fruit of the fru- 
gality of our ancestors. It was Washington's expressed desire, 
when he relinquished the duties and honors of the chief magis- 
tracy of the United States, that he might retire to his Mount Ver- 
non farm and devote himself to the pleasant duties of a rural life. 
He expected that he should never exceed a limit of twenty 
miles distance from his home. In those days, when only one- 
thirtieth of the populace lived in cities, there was not that super- 
ficiality and profligacy, nor the temptation toward it, that there 
is to-day, when nearly one-fourth of the inhabitants of the nation 
dwell in her cities, and when the pulse of national life seems to 
be at its maximum. 

The chief natural causes, therefore, for the prosperity of the 
United States may be found in the natural resources of the ground, 
and in the harmony, honesty, industry and frugality of the people; 
and to these may be added the isolation of the states from the 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 75 

immediate proximity and influence of any considerable foreign 
power. 

And yet no man who knows the weakness and fallibility of men 
can pause here and be satisfied with this catena of causation. We 
read the history of one hundred years of national life, we see events 
working together, a thousand effects converging to a central point 
to bring about an end often unforeseen, which in its turn joins with 
other secondary effects to cause a glorious culmination in national 
good. We thus look upon the United States as from a far off point 
in the heavens. We have a bird's-eye view of the expansion of 
empire. The events of a century are crowded into a day. We see 
the manifestation of a mighty physical and spiritual energy; and the 
harmony of action of a million constituent but various and often 
discordant parts, forces upon the mind the conviction of one over- 
ruling power and unseen source of energy. And so we are 
reminded of the words of our noble first President in his inaugu- 
ral address. He said : " It would be peculiarly improper to omit 
in this first official act my fervent supplication to that Almighty 
Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of 
nations, and whose providential aid can supply every human 
defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and 
happiness of the people of the United States, a government insti- 
tuted by themselves for these essential purposes, and may enable 
every instrument employed in its administration to execute with 
success the functions allotted to his charge. In tendering this 
homage to the great Author of every public and private good, I 
assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my 
own; nor those of my fellow-citizens at large less than either. No 
people can be found to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand 
which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the 
United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the 
character of an independent nation seems to have been distin- 
guished by s-ome tokens of providential agency. And, in the 
important revolution just accomplished in the system of their 
united government, the tranquil deliberations and voluntary con- 
sent of so many distinct communities, from which the event has 
resulted, cannot be compared with the means by which most gov- 
ernments have been established, without some return of pious 
gratitude, along with an humble anticipation of the future bless- 
ings which the past seems to presage. These reflections, arising 
out of the present crisis, have forced themselves too strongly on 
my mind to be suppressed. You will join with me, I trust, in 
thinking that there are none under the influence of which the 



76 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

proceedings of a new and free government can more auspiciously 
commence." 

If these reflections were so impressed upon the mind of Wash- 
ington one hundred years ago, in the infancy, upon the very birth- 
day of the republic, how ought they to come home to our minds 
to-day as we attempt to contemplate something of the grandeur of 
the estate of the youth into which that infant has developed! 

Although freedom of religious belief and worship is guaranteed 
by our Constitution, the government is distinctly theistic, and has 
always been. The Declaration of Independence closes with these 
words: "And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reli- 
ance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge 
to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." 
George Washington took the oath of office upon a Bible, and 
immediately thereafter, with both Houses of Congress, walked to 
St. Paul's Church, where they attended Divine services, solemnized 
by the Rt. Rev. Samuel Provost, Bishop of New York. The delib- 
erations of Congress are preceded by an invocation of Divine bless- 
ing; the coin of the land bears the declaration: "In God we trust." 
We are, in brief, a God-fearing people. And in this fact reposes 
a source of strength and the first secret of prosperity: " Happy 
is that people whose God is the Lord." It is b}' His blessing that 
we are what we are to-day. 

Godlessness in the United States is therefore not characteristic 
of the statesman or citizen in sympathy with the principles upon 
which the government was founded and in accordance with which 
the nation has prospered. It is eminently fitting that the Presi- 
dent of the United States, the Governors of the individual states, 
the Mayors of the cities, and all officers in civil authority over our 
citizens, should in their various proclamations concerning this 
Centennial Anniversary recommend to the people as citizens that 
they should not neglect upon this day to render the devotion 
of grateful and trustful hearts to their country's God and Benefi- 
cent Guardian. Divine worship is, indeed, an essential part of the 
celebration of every civil holiday. No man can resolve himself 
into two men, the Sunday Christian and the week-day citizen. If 
he is a true man he is both at once, and always. He recognizes 
the rule of God in the ordinary affairs of his business, whether he 
be farmer, merchant, or statesman; and in contemplating such an 
event as that which we commemorate to-day, his mind turns not 
first to the fittingness of processions and popular speeches and 
pyrotechnics, suitable as they may be, but rather to the propriety 
of Divine worship. And he who is to-day unmindful of Him by 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 77 

whose beneficent providence we have become so great and happy 
a nation, but would rather ascribe the honor and praise to the 
genius of the people themselves, as the causal rather than the 
cooperative source of our national blessings, but echoes the words 
of Babylon's king of unhappy memory: "Is not this great 
Babylon that / have built for the house of the kingdom by the 
might of my power and for the honor of my majesty?" and calls 
to mind the reply of God which taught him that "the Most High 
ruleth in the kingdom of men." 

Well may we rejoice to-day in our high privilege of citizenship 
of the United States of America; well may we call to mind and 
honor the memories of those who ordained with consummate wis- 
dom the course of national progress, and laid the foundation upon 
which is securely built this wonder and glory of the age; but first 
of all we would pay by this our act of worship the devotion of 
grateful hearts, and with one accord ascribe unto Him to whom 
all honor is due, the only wise God our Saviour, glory and 
majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever, Amen. 



MR. EPHRAIM BANNING. 

AT THE EIGHTH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Notwithstanding occasional glimpses or flashes of light and sun- 
shine, the nations of the Old World for many ages sat in darkness 
and gloom. The outgrowth of ignorance, bigotry, and supersti- 
tion, this darkness, gathered through centuries, finally became so 
deep and impenetrable that it could only be broken through by 
fierce and deadly struggles, aided by the light of many martyr- 
burnings. It was in this vvay, and only in this way, that an 
entrance could be made for the life-giving light of liberty. But 
the fiercer grew the struggle the brighter and clearer shone the 
light, until its intensity and strength became so great that the 
Old World was found too contracted for the full exercise of its 
beautiful and powerful influence. Flashing across oceans of 
space, it then gave birth to the wonderful institutions of our own 
land, the most important of which we now declare, after one 
hundred years trial, to be the grandest and most benign govern- 
ment in the world. 

After mentioning that "the settlement of New England was 
the result of the Reformation," Bancroft says: " A Genoese 
adventurer, discovering America, changed the commerce of the 
world; an obscure German, inventing the printing press, rendered 



78 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

possible the universal diffusion of increased intelligence; an 
Augustine monk, denouncing indulgences, introduced a schism 
in religion, and changed the foundations of European politics; a 
)'oung French refugee, skilled alike in theology and civil law, in 
the duties of magistrates and the dialectics of religious contro- 
versy, entering the republic of Geneva, and conforming its eccle- 
siastical discipline to the principles of republican simplicity, 
established a party, of which Englishmen became members and 
New England the asylum. The enfranchisement of the mind 
from religious despotism led directly to inquiries into the nature 
of civil government; and the doctrine of popular liberty, which 
sheltered their infancy in the wildernesses of the newly-discovered 
continent, within the short space of two centuries, have infused 
themselves into the life-blood of every rising state" in the New 
World, and have disturbed all the ancient governments of Europe 
by awakening the public mind to resistless action. 

The earnest, progressive character of the Pilgrims who came 
over in the Mayflower is well shown by the farewell charge of 
their leader at the time of their departure from the Old World, a 
charge which, it has been said, "breathed a freedom of opinion and 
an independence of authority such as then were hardly known in 
the world." "And so," in the words of one of their number, "lift- 
ing up our hands to each other, and our hearts for each other, and 
to the Lord our God, we departed." 

Their departure is thus described by the historian: "The little 
band, not of resolute men only, but wives, some far gone in preg- 
nancy, children, infants, a floating village, yet but 102 souls, went 
on board the single ship, which was hired only to convey them 
across the Atlantic; and on the 6th day of September, 1620, thir- 
teen years after the first colonization of Virginia, two months 
before the concession of the Grand Charter of Plymouth, without 
any warrant from the sovereign of England, without any useful 
charter from a corporate body, the passengers in the Mayflower 
set sail for a new world, where the past could offer no favorable 
auguries. . . . The Pilgrims were Englishmen, Protestants, 
exiles for religion, men disciplined by misfortune, cultivated by 
opportunities for extensive observation, equal in rank as in rights, 
and bound by no code but that of religion or the public will." 

Before landing they formed themselves into a body politic by a 
voluntary compact, in which they recited, among other things, 
that their voyage had been undertaken "for the glory of God and 
advancement of the Christian faith." This instrument was signed 
by the entire body, forty-one in number, who, with their families. 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 79 

constituted what has been called "the proper democracy;" and it 
has been referred to as "the birth of popular constitutional lib- 
erty." "As the Pilgrims landed, their institutions were already 
perfected. Democratic liberty and independent Christian worship 
at once existed in America." 

To the heroism of these brave men and women, which hardly 
finds a parallel in all history, the country owes a debt of ever- 
lasting gratitude. Looking back from the eminence on which we 
now stand, can we fail to recognize this, and to be thankful for the 
precious heritage of such an ancestry? And particularly can we 
fail to recognize the Divine hand — the hand of the Master Work- 
man — that then and there laid the foundation of our present 
greatness. In all this the guidance of Providence from the very 
beginning is clearly apparent. The Pilgrims did not come until 
everything was ripe for their arrival, or, in other words, until the 
fullness of time. Bancroft says: "Had New England been colonized 
immediately upon the discovery of the American continent, the 
English institutions would have been planted under the powerful 
influence of the Roman Catholic religion; had this settlement been 
made under Elizabeth, it would have been before activity of the 
popular mind in religion had conduced to a corresponding 
activity of mind in politics." In either case the result would 
certainly have been fatal to the future progress of our country. 

Is it any wonder that a century and a half later the children of 
such a parentage should be found declaring that all men are, and 
of right ought to be, free and equal ? Is it any wonder that, as the 
fathers braved unknown perils and hardships for the sake of civil 
and religious liberty, their children should afterward rise up in its 
defense? In their influence in molding the free institutions under 
which we now live, the great men of, and immediately following, 
the Revolutionary period stand next to the Pilgrims of the May- 
flower. And it is our privilege to-day, as well as our duty, to be 
thankful for such men as Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, and 
others who stood by them in the great struggle which made us a 
free people. 

But after this second great crisis — the Revolutionary War — 
came another, not so generally appreciated in the popular mind, 
but none the less trying in its circumstances or important and far- 
reaching in its lasting influences. No matter how galling may 
have been the English yoke, little good could have resulted from 
simply casting it off. In such case, if nothing better had been pro- 
vided, what real good, permanent good, would have been accomp- 
lished ? The question of harmonizing the various and conflicting 



80 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

interests of the colonies, and of devising a form of government sat- 
isfactory to all, and adapted to the wants of all, was a most difficult 
and trying one. But, as on previous occasions, the men in charge 
were equal to the emergency — to the great work assigned them. 
Any one familiar with our early constitutional history cannot fail 
to recognize in this a cause of most earnest and devout gratitude. 

The histoi-y of our country during its first century of constitu- 
tional government, also shows at every point that we are a most 
favored people — God's chosen people — to carry forward the great 
work of civilizing and Christianizing the world. Our borders have 
been enlarged and our population increased; from thirteen states 
we have increased to forty-two; from some three million inhabit- 
ants to over sixty millions; and our general prosperity has been 
without a parallel. 

The present condition of our country, as compared with other 
nations, may be thus stated, in the words of a recent writer: 

"The old nations of the earth creep on at a snail's pace; the 
republic thunders past with the rush of the express. The United 
States, the growth of a single century, has already reached the 
foremost rank among nations, and is destined soon to out-distance 
all others in the race. In population, in wealth, in annual savings, 
and in public credit; in freedom from debt, in agriculture, and in 
manufactures, America already leads the civilized world. 

"France, with her fertile plains and sunny skies, requires a 
hundred and sixty years to grow two Frenchmen where one grew 
before. Great Britain, whose rate of increase is greater than that 
of any other European nation, takes seventy years to double her 
population. The republic has repeatedly doubled hers in twenty- 
five years. . . . 

"Truly the republic is the Minerva of the nations; full armed has 
she sprung from the brow of Jupiter Britain. The 13,000,000 of 
Americans of 1830 have now increased to 56,000,000." 

This same writer says that our country's wealth is not "alto- 
gether due to her enormous agricultural resources, as may at first 
glance be thought, for all the world knows she is first in nations in 
agriculture. It is largely attributable to her manufacturing indus- 
tries, for, as all the world does not know, she, and not Great Brit- 
ain, is also the greatest manufacturing country. . . . 

"In the savings of nations America also comes first. . . . 
The 50,000,000 Americans of 1880 could have bought up the 
140,000,000 Russians, Austrians and Spaniards; or after purchasing 
wealthy France, would have had enough pocket money to have 
acquired Denmark, Norway, Switzerland and Greece. The Yankee 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 81 

republic could even buy the home of his ancestors — the dear 
old home, with all its exquisite beauty, historical associations and 
glorious traditions, which challenge our love and hold it captive. 

" ' The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, 
The solemn temples,' 

aye, every acre of Great Britain and Ireland could he buy and 
hold it as a pretty little Isle of Wight to his great continent; and 
after doing this he could turn around and pay off the entire 
national debt of that deeply indebted land and yet not exhaust his 
fortune — the product of a single century. . . . 

"In military and naval power the republic is at once the weak- 
est and the strongest of nations. . . . Twenty years ago, as at 
the blast of a trumpet, she called into action 2,000,000 of armed 
men and floated 626 war ships. . . . Resting securely upon the 
love and devotion of all her sons, she can, Cadmus-like, raise from 
the soil vast armed hosts who fight only in her defense, and who, 
unlike the seed of the dragon, return to the avocations of peace 
when danger to the republic is passed. The American citizen 
who will not fight for his country, if attacked, is unworthy the 
name. . . . 

"Of more importance even than commercial or military strength 
is the republic's commanding position among nations in intellec- 
tual activity; for she excells in the number of schools and colleges, 
in the number and extent of her libraries, and in the number of 
newspapers and other periodicals published. 

" In the application of science to social and industrial uses, 
she is far in advance of other nations. Many of the most import- 
ant practical inventions which have contributed to the progress of 
the world during the last century originated with Americans. No 
other people have devised so many labor-saving machines and 
appliances. The first commercially successful steamboat to cross 
the Atlantic sailed under the American flag from an American port. 
America gave to the world the cotton-gin, and the first practical 
mowing, reaping and sewing machines." 

All this wonderful development and progress have been the 
direct outgrowth of the influences above suggested, not the least of 
which has been that of the constitutional government set in opera- 
tion by the inauguration of Washington as President one hun- 
dred years ago to-day. Looking to the future in the light of the 
past, should we not fervently pray that this "government of the 
people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the 
earth ? " 

It may have been right, on the ground of expediency, for our 



8i CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

government to have at first recognized the legitimacy of slavery 
and the slave trade. But after all, this was a national sin which 
could only be washed out in blood, the best blood of the land. 
But having thus atoned for it, we now stand without a blot in this 
respect; the blessings of liberty are secured to all, not in name 
merely, but in fact, and so, with us, it is no longer a hollow form 
to say that, politically, all men are free and equal. In the old 
Tower of London, near the dungeons where prisoners vi^ere once 
chained in hopeless darkness, and also near the spot where the 
executioner's ax ruthlessly carried out the tyrant's will, are to be 
seen the Queen's crown and royal diadem. In that part of our 
country where once was heard the clanking of the chains of slavery, 
and millions sat in darkness of despair, there is now to be seen a 
more beautiful diadem than that of England's Queen — the diadem 
of liberty purchased by blood, and given to a people enslaved at 
the beginning but free at the end of our first century's history. 



THE HON. CHARLES CARROLL BONNEY. 

AT THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 

The greatest event in the history of human government was 
the actual establishment of constitutional liberty by the inaugura- 
tion of Washington as the first President of the American Repub- 
lic, April 30, 1789. On that day the original association of the 
American states was dissolved, and the sovereign powers of a 
national union established by the people of the whole country 
were put in actual operation. 

The Constitution framed by the convention that completed its 
work Sept. 17, 1787, under the presiding guidance of Washington, 
had been submitted to the people of the several states for ratifica- 
tion, and had been approved by the requisite number of states, 
June 21, 1788. That Constitution, and the laws and treaties to be 
made under it, were thenceforth declared to be "the supreme law 
of the land, anything in the constitution or laws of any state to 
the contrary notwithstanding." The Declaration of Independence 
did not form the new nation. In that act the thirteen colonies 
were merely allies in a common cause, and they achieved separate 
nationalities by the Revolutionary War. The nation was not 
created till the Constitution was put in force. 

Looking backward after the lapse of a century to that conven- 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 83 

tion and its work; to the people and their ratification of the new 
Constitution; to the first election held under it and the unanimous 
choice of Washington as chief magistrate; to his installation in 
office and the actual organization of the government; to the com- 
plex and mighty problems presented for solution and the wonder- 
ful success which attended that sublime experiment in free gov- 
ernment, we may well declare that such achievements were impos- 
sible to man without the providential aid and guidance of 
Almighty God. Those events constitute and will ever remain one 
of the mightiest miracles of human progress. 

The amendments suggested in connection with the ratification, 
and soon after made, are treated as practically parts of the original 
Constitution. 

The crowning marvel of the American Constitution of govern- 
ment, is the wonderful equality with which the respective rights of 
the people, the states, the nation and the several departments of 
governmental power are protected and preserved. The proper 
sphere of each is plainly defined and circumscribed; within the 
limits each finds the domain of its liberty, and we behold how 
good and how pleasant it is for gigantic rights and powers, inter- 
ests and duties, to dwell together in unity. Imperial national 
power, free local self-government, and the largest desirable measure 
of personal liberty are here united and preserved with marvelous 
equality and justice; and alike in national and state governments, 
are protected by adequate barriers against encroachment. 

Arbitrary power is banished from the republic. In the laws 
the people reign, and by public officers their will is executed. 

Sot'c-reign Justice is exalted to the highest place, and sits in 
judgment on the extent and limitations of all the powers of govern- 
ment. Clearly foreseeing the transcendent importance of judicial 
supremacy as a safe-guard against excesses and usurpations of 
political or executive power, Washington, in enclosing the commis- 
sion of the first Chief Justice to John Jay, declared that the head of 
the judicial department of the government must be considered 
"the keystone of our political fabric." 

The original confederacy was merely an association represented 
by legislative committees. The Constitution is a government of 
supreme power. The equal and efficient protection of the people, 
the states and the nation is its one all-comprehensive purpose. 

The sublime and far-reaching statement of the objects of gov- 
ernment, set forth in the preamble of the National Constitution, is 
unsurpassed in human history. Let us recall its wise and eloquent 
words: 



84 ai/CAGO'S CE.V'rEXyiAL CELEBRATION 

We, the people of the United States, 

In order to form a more perfect Union; 

To establish justice and insure domestic tranquility; 

To provide for the common defense; 

To promote the general welfare; 

And secure the blessings of liberty 

To ourselves and our posterity, 

Do ordain and establish this Constitution 

For the United States of America. 
By this Constitution the sovereignty of the people is declared. 
The unity of the whole people is asserted. The necessary subordi- 
nation of the several states is made plain. The establishment of jus- 
tice is set forth as the means of insuring the inestimable blessings 
of domestic tranquility. The common defense of the whole coun- 
try takes the place of self-defense by each colony. The general 
welfare is exalted over all local, sectional, and personal interests. 
All these provisions are made in order that the blessings of that 
liberty which is in harmony with them all may be secured to 
future generations. These safeguards anticipate every assault of 
foreign enemy or domestic foe, and point out to the people the 
highway of triumph. The great pyramid of Egypt is called "A 
Miracle in Stone"; the Constitution of the United States as well 
deserves the designation of a "Miracle in Words"! It displays a 
triple trinity of people, states and nation; of executive, legis- 
lative, and judicial power; of civil, religious, and intellectual 
liberty, harmoniously wrought into one complete and imposing 
structure, against which the storms of invasion, rebellion, and 
anarchy have beaten, and will ever beat, in vain. 

The House of Representatives is made the especial guardian of 
the rights of the people; the rights of the several states are par- 
ticularly entrusted to the Senate; peace and war, money and com- 
merce, revenue and legislation, are committed to the two Houses of 
Congress; and the administration of the government, and the com- 
mand of the army and navy, are devolved upon the President. 

These are some of the leading characteristics of the wonderful 
system of government put in operation by the first inauguration of 
Washington as President of the United States. 

John Adams was Vice-President, and presided in the Senate. 
Thomas Jefferson was made Secretary of State; Alexander Hamil- 
ton, Secretary of the Treasury; Henry Knox, Secretary of War; and 
Edmund Randolph, Attorney-General. This was the first Cabinet 
of the Republic. Its members were indeed illustrious men, and had 
achieved enduring fame in the struggle of the American colonies 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 85 

for independence, but above them all rose the majestic figure of 
Washington, their acknowledged leader — calm, commanding, and 
sublime. Each succeeding generation has added to his fame, and 
he is now ranked, by common consent, as the foremost of human 
leaders. A recent political biographer declares that even his letters 
prove him to have been " the greatest man the earth has yet seen." 
He was a sincere and earnest Christian. Love to God and love to 
man vi'ere the dominant forces of his character. His integrity and 
uprightness were as firmly fixed as the everlasting hills. In him a 
great ambition, and a consciousness of the ability to direct and 
command, were transfigured, and became the loftiest patriotism 
and sense of public duty. His intuitive perception of the true 
principles of free government, and the action demanded by the 
exigency of any occasion, commanded not only the respect but the 
admiration of the illustrious statesmen by whom he was sur- 
rounded. 

The War of the Revolution had established independence at 
home, but the War of 1812 was required to secure the proper 
recognition of the new nation tiiroughout the world. The acquisi- 
tion of the Louisiana territory, Texas, New Mexico and California, 
gave a geographical completeness to the national domain; but the 
War of the Rebellion was required to effect the overthrow of slav- 
ery and establish the supremacy of the nation. 

And now we enter the second century of constitutional liberty, 
face to face with the remaining vast and solemn problems of free 
government — the questions of labor and capital; of competition, 
combination and cooperation; of education and suffrage; of equal 
rights, privileges and protection; of the free and efficient adminis- 
tration of justice, of public morals and policy, of temperance and 
domestic tranquility, of law and order. These are the mighty 
issues which, in the near future, the American people will be called 
upon to meet and settle. Woe to the political organization that 
shall put itself in the way of the public welfare on these vital 
problems of our time, for it will be destroyed by the resistless 
waves of the advancing tide of a higher, nobler and purer public 
opinion than the country has seen for more than half a century. 
Benedictions on every honest effort to promote a wise, speedy and 
enduring settlement of those great issues, for where the purpose is 
just, any errors of method will soon be discovered and corrected. 

The day of a great advance of the American people is at hand; 
let us be ready for its dawn. Let us revive the lofty, patriotic and 
pious spirit of Washington, and in the language of his first inau- 
gural address, declare that it would be, on such an occasion, 



86 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

" peculiarly improper to omit a fervent supplication to that 
Almighty Being who rules over the universe; who presides in the 
councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every 
human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties 
and happiness of the people of the United States, a government 
instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, and may 
enable every instrument employed in its administration to exe- 
cute, with success, the functions allotted to his charge." 

Let us also declare with him, in his glowing words on the same 
momentous occasion, that "no people can be bound to acknowledge 
and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men 
more than the people of the United States, since every step by 
which they have been advanced to the character of an independent 
nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of 
providential agency." 

Above all, let us, on this occasion, recall and take deeply to 
heart the solemn warning of the "Father of his Country," in his 
farewell address to the people of the United States, against '"the 
baneful effects of the spirit of party, that distracts the public coun- 
cils, enfeebles the public administration, agitates the community 
with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, and kindles the 
animosity of one part of the country against another." Let us 
remember that parties should be the servants of the people, not 
their masters; that the purpose to be effected is far more impor- 
tant than the political machinery devised to accomplish it, as 
the harvest is of more consequence than the means by which it is 
gathered. Let us always be good citizens, faithful to the Constitu- 
tion and the laws, and devoted to the general welfare; and parti- 
sans only so far as may be consistent with the duties we owe to 
God, to our country, and to our fellow-men. 

We are not merely approaching, we are actually in the midst 
of another great crisis in the development of free government. 
Anarchy wars against liberty; vagabondism against industry; the 
saloon against the family; avarice and dissipation against Sunday; 
infidelity against religion; ignorance against knowledge; vice 
against virtue; public plunder against honest politics. In this 
vast and complex conflict every man must finally be drawn to one 
side or the other, whether it be as an active combatant or merely 
as giving silent aid and comfort to the side he has espoused. The 
solemn significance of the general celebration of the first inaugu- 
ration of Washington consists in its relation to the great moral 
conflict now in progress. 

This celebration will inspire new forces to take the field, and 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 87 

will arouse those already engaged to greater efforts. On a day not 
far distant a grand advance of the people will be made, and will 
result in a decisive victory for justice and domestic tranquility; for 
the common defense and the general welfare; and thereby secure, 
not only for our own posterity, but, in the fullness of time, 
through the omnipotent providence of God, for all mankind, the 
inestimable blessings of constitutional liberty. 

On this 30th of April, 1889, the American people return, by 
common consent and universal rejoicing, to the standard of public 
service and personal character represented by the great name of 
Washington. Henceforth, if that return be earnest and sincere, 
the public places of the land, from lowest to highest, will be better 
filled and their duties more worthily performed. Those who are 
best qualified for a particular service will be sought out, and 
solicited for the sake of the general good, to render that service. 
Party slavery will cease. Men will act with political organizations, 
or against them, in freedom and according to reason, as good con- 
science may require. The right of private judgment will be 
acknowledged to extend even to political affairs. The next presi- 
dential election will witness the complete and final overthrow of 
the liquor saloon as a political power and an enemy of good gov- 
ernment, and speedily thereafter attempts to control elections by 
fraud or force will cease, except as individual crimes, occasionally 
committed, as are other offenses against the laws. 

These great results will be accomplished under the simple rule 
of common sense, that " Those 7vho think alike should act together;" 
and it will be demonstrated that the dangerous classes of this 
country constitute only a small and easily controlled minority of 
the people, and are comparatively powerless when good citizens 
unite against them. Washingtonian reform is needed, not only in 
many high places of the country, but equally as much in the hum- 
bler fields of public service. Even the policeman should be so 
intelligent, just, and faithful that he would be worthy to serve in a 
war for liberty, under a commander like Washington. Even the 
justice of the peace, within his small realm, should love equity, and 
do justice, as though a Marshall were coming to inspect his work. 
Even an alderman should exercise the legislative and political 
authority entrusted to him, as though a Madison were to examine 
and pass upon it. 

But the true and pure republic is God's government of a free 
people; and faithfully to serve it is, though unwittingly, to serve 
Him. Washington, Marshall, Madison, and their great compeers, 
were great only as they served their country and the world as the 
apostles of law and order. 



88 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

The heroism which the great emergencies of to-day chiefly 
demand is that of a brave and honest ballot. With moral courage 
to match our intelligence and opportunities, there would forthwith 
be such progress in reform and the removal of existing abuses and 
evils as would make the dawn of the second century of constitu- 
tional liberty worthy to be remembered and celebrated as the 
American people this day celebrate the first inauguration of the 
illustrious Washington. When Washington was inducted into the 
Presidency he reverently laid his hand upon the open Bible and 
took the prescribed official oath: 

"/ do solemnly swear thai I 7vill faithfully execute the office of Presi- 
dent of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, 
protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." 

All legislative, executive and judicial officers, both of the United 
States and of the several states, are required to take an oath or 
affirmation to support that Constitution. (Art. VI.) Naturalized 
foreigners must also take a similar oath. (Nat. Law.) But it was 
assumed that native-born American citizens would be so impressed 
by the excellencies of free government, and so inspired by the love 
of liberty and by sentiments of duty, that there would be no need 
of exacting a similar obligation from them. Unfortunately, that 
assumption has not been verified. We all know that the duties of 
good citizenship have been seriously neglected. 

Let this glorious day witness a great revival of civic patriotism! 
Let us supply by our voluntary act the omitted oath of allegiance. 
Let us solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm, in the pres- 
ence of the ever-living God, that with His aid and guidance we 
will henceforth, to the best of our abilities, perform the duties of 
our municipal, state and national citizenship, and thereby do our 
part to preserve, protect and defend that great charter of civil and 
religious liberty, the Constitution of the United States. 



THE RT.-REV. CHARLES EDWARD CHENEY, D. D. 

AT CHRIST REFORMED EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

The President of the United States has manifested his deep 
appreciation of the significance of this momentous day by request- 
ing, in his proclamation, not only a civil but a religious celebration 
of it. A great writer has said that hate always needs a reason; 
love, never. That principle is no more true of the love which a 
good man bears toward his wife or his mother than of the love 
which the Christian citizen bears toward the country which gave 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 89 

him birth. But if it were needed to assign reasons for a religious 
celebration of this anniversary, we need not wander far or dig deep 
in order to discover them. Let me, then, allude to one rarely 
referred to on such occasions. I mean the Providential preparations 
for the planting of this nation on this Western continent. 

Sir Joshua Reynolds was once asked why he set so high a value 
on one of the productions of his pencil. "It only cost you," said 
the objector, "a few hours of labor to make that picture." "True," 
said the great artist, "but it took me forty years to prepare to paint 
it." The life-time of the American Republic is but a hand's breadth 
compared with the long rule of the democracies and aristocracies of 
ancient Greece, the duration of the republics which once fringed the 
Mediterranean Sea, or the hoary age of the empires and kingdoms of 
the elder vi'orld. But, and I speak with all reverence, it took Almighty 
God long centuries to make on American soil the Providential prepa- 
rations for planting here the grand structure of the freest, the most 
intelligent, the most liberty-loving and law-abiding people on whom 
He ever permitted His sun to shine. Have you ever thought how 
the discovery of this Western world bears the marks of Providen- 
tial interposition, which ought to endear the land to every citizen 
of the great republic? How did it come to pass that out of the 
hundreds — perhaps thousands — of adventurous voyagers whose 
eyes turned longingly across the Atlantic in the closing years of 
the fifteenth century, only one had the courage and persistency to 
go begging like a mendicant from court to court of European 
kings, for help to lay at their feet the boundless v/ealth of the 
Western Indies? What power moved the heart of Isabella of Spain 
to pawn even the jewels of her crown to provide this unknov/n 
pleader with the ships he needed? And when the voyage began, and 
four little vessels faded away from the view of the loungers on the 
wharves of Palos, was it human skill and courage alone that bore 
those wretched cockleshells safely over the trackless Atlantic? 

It was the stormiest season which veteran mariners could 
remember. Three out of the four ships were boats destitute even 
of a deck. The hardy sailors on our Chicago docks would hesitate 
long before they ventured in such craft to cross from shore to 
shore of this majestic Michigan. Within was mutiny. Without 
were the blackness and howling of the storm. Thrice did the 
rebellious sailors almost reach the point of compelling their great 
admiral to turn his prow backward toward European shores. Who 
averted such a disaster? Not Columbus, but an Almighty Hand 
busied with the preparations to make this continent the dwelling 
of the American republic! 



90 CHICAGO'S CEXTENN/AL CELEBRATION 

Go a little further. We often, on occasions like this, talk 
grandiloquently about our civil and religious freedom, as if the 
shrewdness and sagacity of ourselves or our fathers had secured us 
these priceless blessings. But it should always be remembered 
that it was by what a great historian calls "a miracle of Divine 
Providence" that this whole continent did not become the scene of 
despotism in government and of the Inquisition in religion. 
Francis Parkman, the historian of the early French attempts to 
colonize the Western hemisphere, declares that " Liberty may 
thank the savage Iroquois that, by their insensate fury, they averted 
such a peril. Detroit was a French fort. The passes of the West 
were guarded by French garrisons. A new France had grown up 
at the mouth of the Mississippi. Lines of military communication 
connected the French Gulf of St. Lawrence vtith the French Gulf 
of Mexico. Spain held the vast regions of the far South. The 
British colonies were a broken and feeble line of undefended settle- 
ments fringing the waters of the North Atlantic." It was only by 
a strange interference of Providence that the imperial domain of 
the vast West was saved from being a French empire — ruled by the 
absolute tyranny of the Bourbons and under the religious domina- 
tion of the Jesuits. Why such a scheme failed is a puzzle to the 
skeptic. It is as clear as day to him who sees in it the Providence 
of God preparing the place for a people, the corner-stone of whose 
civil polity should be personal and political liberty, and the corner- 
stone of whose religion should be the right of private judgment. 

Pursue the thought a little further. When Washington, at the 
end of the Revolution, returned to the enjoyment of the civic hon- 
ors his sword had won, he distinctly told the American people that 
it was not the indomitable courage, the military skill or the patri- 
otic consecration of our fathers which had wrought the victory 
over the tremendous power of the British empire. It was only the 
strange and extraordinary manifestations of Divine Providence. 
God was preparing the ground for the last and best experiment in 
civil and religious freedom. 

Nor is the same principle less apparent in the history of our 
own times. Said a brave Confederate officer, who bears the scars 
of bloody battles in which he fought to establish a nation based on 
the principle of human slavery : "I thank God that we failed. It 
was only His Providence which saved this land from the curse of 
slavery, and from the worse fate of being split up into bickering 
and jealous states, wasting their best blood in quarrels with each 
other." The reverent acknowledgment of God's Providence in the 
Revolution, which Washington made, was echoed by the nation's 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 91 

martyr amidst the convulsions of our great Civil War. It was only, 
as he declared in his Gettysburg address, "Under God" that the 
nation was to have a new birth of freedom, and that government of 
the people, by the people, and for the people, should not perish 
from the earth. 

We measure a gift not by its intrinsic worth. Associations are 
more precious than gold. The most trifling thing possesses a value 
beyond all human estimate when we know that loving hands 
wrought out the gift with the thought of the recipient ever before 
the mind of the giver. But when the gift was the noblest land and 
the freest government on earth, and the Giver who wrought it with 
toilsome preparation was Almighty God, what shall we say? The 
patriotism of Benedict Arnold was purer than his who can take the 
gift of the American republic from the hand of God and not love 
his country with a burning zeal, because of the preparations 
with which God made ready such a gift for him and his posterity! 
In days of chivalry, knightly men, on the birthday of our Lord, 
took the sacrament in pledge that they would defend the right. 
We have done well to rescue this Centennial of the American 
Constitution from forgetfulness. But let us go one step further. 
On this sacred day let us take a sacramental pledge to do our share 
as individuals to make the nation worthy of its providential prepa- 
ration. That is the work of the true citizen. That is the living 
power of genuine love for the American commonwealth. The old 
Greeks had a legend that when the ten years' siege of Troy was 
ended, the news of the victory was known in every Greek city 
before the dawn of another day. On every mountain-top a sentry 
had been stationed. On Mount Ida a blazing beacon told of 
triumph. The next peak of the range caught up the message in a 
glow of fire. Summit after summit, island after island bridging 
the blue yEgean, sent on the story in letters of flame. The height 
where our fathers kindled the beacon which told the glad news of 
a free nation's birth into a world of selfish despotism lies a hun- 
dred years behind us. But to-day we stand on another mountain 
peak and kindle the fire which sends the tidings on. May God 
grant that each century shall see the flame renewed! May genera- 
tions of Americans yet unborn thank God for the Constitution, 
for the example of Washington, and for the birth-hour of a republic 
which, while time shall last, shall fear God, honor law and preserve 
liberty on the earth. 



92 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

THE REV. H. W. BOLTON. 

AT THE FIRST METHODIST EPISCOP.\L CHURCH. 

This is an eventful moment in the history of a great nation, the 
gathering of the people for prayer, praise, and giving of thanks unto 
Him who honored the heroic faith of 1776 and 1779. Then less than 
four millions unfurled the flag we honor, and resolved themselves 
free and independent states. Then it took courage and confidence 
to declare in favor of independence. Jefferson must have been 
heaven-inspired when he rose in the presence of that company 
to read: "We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of 
America in general congress assembled, appealing to the .Supreme 
Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the 
name and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, 
solemnly publish and declare that these united colonies are and 
ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved 
from all allegiance to the British crown; and that all political con- 
nection between them and the state of Great Britain is and ought 
to be dissolved; and that, as free and independent states, they have 
full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish 
commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent 
states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, 
with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we 
mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our 
sacred honor." 

Would to God such a spirit might fill our hearts to-day as 
sixty millions unfurl the Stars and Stripes over the blossoming 
earth and beneath a smiling heaven! What means this booming of 
guns, ringing of bells, and gathering of the people? What! do you 
ask? It is the gathering of patriots in expression of their loyalty to 
the flag as the emblem of liberty, equal rights, and national unity. 
To us patriotism means more than devotion to native land. That 
is commendable and often strong, even moving the native of 
Asiatic Islands on beholding a banana tree in the Garden of Plants 
in Paris, to baptize the plant with tears. Yea, even the Esquimaux 
becomes so wedded to the frigid zone of his native home as to 
think the blubber oil and ice-cabin preferable to the gifts of 
enlightened nations and refined society. Why does the heart so 
tenaciously cling to that spot on earth where first it learned to live? 
Because of the friendships and the blessings that were all the 
world to it. The nations waited for the history of our country to 
develop the patriotism that should make the sons of all climes and 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 93 

all lands one in defense of the institutions of a free republic. We 
go not back into ancient history for illustrations of true patriotism. 

Speak not to-day of the heroism displayed at Marathon. We 
have heard of Bunker Hill, Georgetown, Pittsburgh Landing, 
Fair Oaks, Gettysburg, Lookout Mountain and Antietam. We 
have seen more than five hundred thousand men leave the shops, 
mines and schools of our land to fight for the union of states and 
the maintenance of liberty and equal rights. We glory in the spirit 
of Lieut. Cummings while passing up the Mississippi, who having 
had one leg torn from his body, called out as he fell: "Get the 
ship past the batteries, boys, and they can have the other leg if 
they want it." Such is the patriotism of American history! 

In the fiery furnace of war men have learned to love this, their 
native or adopted home, more than all others. Yes, the stubborn 
Englishman, the heroic Scotchman, the enthusiastic Irishman, the 
hearty German, and the fun-loving Frenchman, join in singing 
" My Country, 'tis of Thee." 

There are good reasons for the strength of our patriotism. This 
is a home land, a land in which all may find protection in the exer- 
cise of a good conscience. Territorially we have room for all who 
desire to come and share with us. We rank as the third nation 
on the globe, if we consider only the number of persons dwelling 
upon contiguous territory, and in less than half a century we 
shall stand second. Our population is at least fifteen times 
as great as it was a hundred years ago. I for one entertain 
no doubt that the sustaining force of the United States is 
adequate to the support of 1,000,000,000 inhabitants, without 
any impairment of the enjoyments and comforts of social and 
domestic life. If we assume the habitable area of the United 
States to be 2,500,000 square miles, an average population of 
300 to the square mile (the present average of the State of Miis- 
sachusetts) would give an aggregate of 750,000,000 souls. Our 
capacity may be further measured by considering the fact that if 
the present inhabitants of the United States could be transferred to 
Texas the average would not exceed three hundred persons to the 
square mile. 

The diversification of human pursuits, due to science, art and a 
wise public policy, is making a constant and appreciable addition 
to the capacity of the globe to sustain human life. The 60,000,000 
within our limits are better fed, better clothed, better housed 
than were the 3,000,000 who inaugurated the Revolutionary War. 
It is not improbable that this progress may continue for an indefi- 
nite period. We have thus in one hundred years rushed to the 



94 CHICAGO'S CENTEXNIAL CELEBRATION 

foremost rank in population, wealth and annual savings. In public 
credit, in agriculture and in manufactures America leads the civil- 
ized world. Her territory is not half occupied. To-day we 
have in wealth $43,000,000,000, and our manufactures amount to 
$1,112,000,000, or nearly half as much as those of all Europe. 

Again, this rapid growth does not endanger the nation's riches, 
for God hath stored in these hills, and along these prairies, 
immeasurable wealth in crude forms. The lead, zinc, copper, 
tin, silver and gold have only to be searched out; the best 
and largest quantities are not yet reached. The sunshine of 
other days when beast and bird occupied the land is now 
buried in Pennsylvania, Mississippi and Arkansas in 160,000 
square miles of condensed light and power, and God hath in these 
last days shown us how to set the currents on fire all about us. 
Drive on ye men of thought! Build your mansions, harness the 
steeds of the sky. We have minerals and power sufficient to make 
this the City of Gold, with pearly gates and foundations of precious 
stones. 

Again, this is a land of schools and churches. A man cannot 
escape their influence if he would. As soon as a mother can trust 
her boy from her presence the bell calls him to school. One hun- 
dred and ninety-eight thousand eight hundred and eighty-four 
schools open their doors to all classes of all nationalities, at the 
expense of $74,400,000. We published in 1880, 31,789,666 news- 
papers, with an addition of 4,314 periodicals devoted largely to 
news, politics and family reading. 

Then ours is the land of equality. Here every man has a right 
to lead and a chance to rule. The log houses of the West are still 
honored, for out of them come the boys with convictions and a 
mother's blessing to take the positions of power. We look back 
on the men whom we have honored. We speak of Washington not 
as a scholar, but as a man of force and will, such as gave him 
character and standing; of Jackson, the fighter, who conquered a 
mother'swish, for she ordained that he should preach; of Abraham 
Lincoln, of your own state, who rose to shake off the snow that 
sifted through the splits of his father's house and overcame hosts 
of obstacles that he might be great. What shall we say of our 
peerless Grant, our scholarly Sumner, the aspiring Greeley, the 
historic Garfield, the brave and patriotic Sheridan, and a long list 
of noble men who have graced our records ? 

To each and all the gates swing open wide. To gain the bright- 
est honors ever offered to mortals is still possible. In the next hun- 
dred years are to be settled grave questions. Temperance and 



OF IVASII/.VGTOX'S INAUGURATION. 95 

drunkenness, Christianity and infidelity are before us. It is for us 
to say which shall be honored. No heart touched with divine love 
was ever in a position to do more than the sons of the nineteenth 
century. In this great undivided home there are millions to be 
educated and converted to American and New Testament ideas. 
Millions of crude, undeveloped natures are to be trained for the 
race of life. Up yonder there are crowns. Who shall wear them? 
He who utilizes the zeal and push of his age to guide the dashing 
train into the everlasting habitation of God. 



THE REV. LEE M. HEILMAN. 

AT GRACE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH. 

We are here to celebrate more than a single day. The 30th 
of April, 1789, had in it something vi'orthy of remembrance beyond 
its own sunlight. It was a great day for the infant republic. 
From Mount Vernon the first President started for New York 
with a profound sense of duty and of his grave responsibilities. At 
Trenton, where once the dark clouds of discouragement for the 
colonies were rent by victory, he passed the arch reared by the 
enthusiasm of a grateful people. On it was inscribed: "The 
defender of the mothers will be the protector of the daughters." 
The alighted chief walks the bridge where women stand and 
little girls dressed in white strew flowers of honor in the path of 
Washington. A boat finally carries him to his journey's end, where 
an overwhelming crowd awaited him with storms of huzzas. 
Amidst almost unbounded excitement he came to the stand to 
take the oath of office as executive of the new-born country. 
Wearing a suit of dark-brown cloth, white stockings, large buckles 
on shoes, he stood there a man of august presence, and leaning 
forward as the solemn vow was to be taken to guide conscientiously 
the new nation under God just established, he kissed fervently 
the Book he had learned from a faithful mother to love and study. 

That pageant, however, with its heart-touching scenes, is not all 
that we, after a century, commemorate. There have been richer 
and more splendid events. Nay, back of and around that day 
gathered the worth which makes the day memorable. It is the 
principles that created the occasion which gave the day its value. 
A single day is not great enough to merit the honor which such a 
land as ours meets now to lavish on the day a hundred years ago. 
In it culminated the character of a great struggle for freedom. It 



06 CHICAGO'S CENTEX.VLIL CELEDRATIOX 

was the fruit of terrible war, inexpressible hardships and untold 
endurance for a cause dearer than life. 

First, it is true we affectionately turn to the memories of one 
man, but it is to a true man. It is a man of worth and highest 
character. Not far from where he sleeps now Nature has sculpt- 
ured on a high cliff beyond the harming of human hand a form as 
of a man's head and shoulders, and which, it is thought, looks like 
the bust of our Washington. But though so imperishable that 
picture of rock, the influence of the name and character of Wash- 
ington will continue more imperishable. Napoleon said: "Pos- 
terity will talk of him with reverence as the founder of a great 
empire, when my name shall be lost in the vortex of revolution." 
His example shines brightly at the fireside and in the home. As a 
boy of diligence, learning and practicing the lessons of morality 
and piety taught by a mother whom he obeyed and revered to her 
life's end, his name will live in the hearts of America's youth. 
While in private life he was a man of faith and a communicant 
member of the Christian Church, he was a man of uncorrupted 
principle in every public relation. The well-read books lying on 
his table at death were Sir Matthew Hale on " Mortality," and the 
Sacred Bible. Our Centennial is made grander to-day because 
we may proudly point to a genuine man as the leading figure in 
our history. 

And yet what we recall is greater than the day or the noblest 
man. The principle underlying our government still lives. Lib- 
erty to mankind is the soil which, undisturbed in its fertile, inherent 
force, is our notable inheritance. Its self-governing and self-per- 
petuating growth has produced a country which in riches and in the 
entire sphere of prosperity has ascended above all the nations of 
the world. These principles of liberty have touched and shaken the 
foundations of monarchical thrones and have tempered the rule of 
every sovereign on the globe. Nor has the experiment of self-gov- 
ernment found the rule of the people an abused power; but liberty's 
self-generated health has taken anarchy by the throat, throttled it, 
and cast it into the vortex of death; and rebellion, as is seen in the 
presence of these veterans before us to-day, has been made a thing 
of the past. The old doctrines of freedom of a century ago are 
living; they are firm as adamant. These unchanging things will 
still give perpetuity to the nation which our fathers reared in sacri- 
fice and with blood, and they will stand the tests of influences 
which come like ocean-tides against them. I have faith in liberty, 
and in our institutions founded on truth, and believe that our Co- 
lumbia will stand as a model to lead the nations to a higher glory. 



OF WASHINGTON' S INAUGURATION^. 97 

We, then, review not merely a pageant of a day, or the virtues 
of a man, or the valor and victory of war, but we call to mind, so 
that we may also honor them, the distinguished character and the 
moral and spiritual forces which inaugurated not a single President 
but a great nation. 

And do we not well in such a commemoration ? The old aspira- 
tions for freedom, that conscience and religion might have liberty, 
and that the people might flourish, were the pure motives which 
launched so safely our Union at the beginning, and it is only these 
aspirations that can perpetuate the nation. 



Ill 



EXERCISES IN THE SCHOOLS 



Ill 



EXERCISES IN THE SCHOOLS 



In the warmth and enthusiasm of youth are found the best 
soil for planting tlie seeds of patriotism. Youth, which is so 
intense and so imaginative, invests everything with a rosy hue 
and imparts to every subject something of its own buoyancy and 
its own earnestness. The patriotism of the youth is different 
from that of the mature. In the mature it becomes an ideal 
quality, while in the young it is a creature of the flesh and the 
blood and the imagination. The mature patriotism is a beau- 
tiful patriotism, because it is a tower of strength in itself. It not 
only begets moral courage, but it supports moral courage. It 
is a relative aspect of those other qualities of the human 
mind associated with a love of home, a love of parents, and a 
love of one's children. There is this difference. Patriotism has 
greater moral qualities than the other affections, and has a 
greater hold upon the intellects of men, inspiring them to 
do some of the loftiest deeds of heroism and personal sacrifice. 
All history is a record of the promptings of the patriotic 
impulse. While in the mature it is a greater moral quality, in 
the youth it is a beautiful one. The child does not appreciate 
the full significance of patriotism as does the adult. It is one of 
those qualities of the mind which comes through the operation of 
reason, and from a sort of intuitive appreciation of the natural con- 
dition of things. The germ of patriotism is in the mind of every- 
one, only requiring the process of years and favorable circum- 
stances to make it bloom into the splendor of the perfect flower. 

Patriotism is the bulwark of the nation's safety, and becomes 
the stronger protection because it is so largely an endowment of 



103 CHICAGO- S CEiVTENNIAI. CELEBRATION 

every properly constituted citizen. It binds society more closely 
than law. It is stronger than custom. It is more powerful than 
any artificial opinion or impulse, because it is so natural. It 
seems to be a function of every man's nature to express his 
patriotism, that is, to find an outlet for his patriotic feelings; 
and it also seems to be a function of the human mind not only 
to express that patriotism, but to spread the sentiment with the 
whole strength of one's physical being. Where would we be 
to-day were it not for patriotism? Was it not this great 
moral impulse which gave almost superhuman strength to 
the grand characters of 1776? Was it not patriotism that 
endowed George Washington with the wisdom of a Solomon, 
the moral courage of a Socrates, and with a strength that could 
not be dismayed? Was it not patriotism which gave the little 
American army the inexhaustible vitality of an Anta;us? Was 
it not patriotism that put down one of the bloodiest wars in all 
history, our own Civil War? Was it not patriotism that tri- 
umphed over the greatest difficulties, that wiped out the blood- 
stains of our own intestine strife, that has cemented this people 
into one symmetrical and splendid whole, and has placed us in 
rank with the greatest and most powerful nations of the earth? 

If, then, patriotism is so lofty a quality of the human mind; 
if it is so necessary to the substantial and symmetrical growth of 
nations; if it accomplishes so much for the welfare of the com- 
munity, and so much for the prosperity and protection of the 
individual, is it not wise to encourage this grand moral sentiment 
and develop it in our youth? The youthful mind is the proper 
place to inculcate lessons of virtue and wisdom. It is in a state 
of receptivity, and the seed that is planted there takes firmer 
root and grows to a stronger maturity than those seeds that are 
planted later in life. The mind of the youth, fresh and elastic, is 
full of hope and full of sentiment. And as the natural elements 
help propagate a more sterling condition of life, so do the finer 
sentiments of the mind help to concentrate the more rugged and 
sturdy virtues. The oak, with its gnarled boughs and umbrage- 
ous top, defying the blast of the winds and the stroke of the 
lightnincr, comes from a small acorn. That acorn to be an oak 
must be planted in the earth, the rain must water it and the 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 103 

sunshine invigorate it. By and by it assumes that maturity 
which has always been the symbol of resisting strength. And so 
to reach the highest development of patriotism, that patriotism 
before which all personal interest disappears as mist before the 
rising sun, before which no personal sacrifice is too great, and no 
physical suffering worthy to be compared to the results attained 
— that patriotism must first be planted in the mind of youth. 
With proper care it will develop into oak-like strength, and what 
was a charming ebullition of youthful enthusiasm and imagina- 
tion will become in the man a strong and lofty and unquenchable 
virtue. 

For these reasons the Centennial celebration in the schools of 
Chicago has a peculiar significance. In the first place, the youth 
are made familiar with the sacrifices of the fathers of our coun- 
try, the noble virtues they practiced to attain that which the 
present generation enjoys, and which is held in trust by them for 
generations that are yet unborn. It makes them American citi- 
zens in the best sense of the word. They join together in cele- 
brating particular occasions, and thus there is a community of 
sentiment as well as interest. They forget that their parents may 
have come from foreign lands. They deal with the present in its 
relation to the past, both of their own and of their adopted coun- 
try. In the second place, by bringing them face to face with the 
grand characters of the nation's history, it makes them realize 
the full beauty of individual patriotism and what it can do for 
men in extremities. It makes the children understand the 
strength of this virtue and its relation to the other attributes of 
the human mind. From the study of this he learns the beauty 
and the value of virtue in the abstract, and he also learns how 
much more noble a thing is a lofty virtue than a base senti- 
ment. By placing these in contrast he is taught a lesson in 
morals. In the third place, the distinction between youth and 
age is eradicated. The child and the man are merged together. 
Each feels the revivifying glow of the patriotic impulse, and the 
imagination in the one case is warmed in the same degree as in 
the other; and by wiping out the distinction between youth and 
age, under the influence of the patriotic glow, the child becomes 
as much an individual in the fabric of society as is the man. 



104 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

This quality of patriotism, therefore, appeals not only to his 
sense of moral beauty and to his sense of imagination, but it 
appeals also to his pride. And, furthermore, he learns this les- 
son, that his home and his country are interchangeable terms; 
that if he would defend his home he must defend his country. 
His country, in its narrower sense, is his home; and his home, in 
its broader sense, is his country. In being taught to revere his 
country, he is taught to love his home. He learns that if he 
would protect his home he must fight for his country. Will not 
this inculcate a lofty ruggedness of character? 

The mind of the youth is the place to engender the virtue of 
patriotism. Plant it there. Teach the child the full force of its 
beauty and its strength. Nature will help you. And when he 
comes to manhood that patriotism will make him respect the 
laws, will make him love his home, revere his country, and make 
him realize the full force of the poet's words : 

Nothing so sweete is as our countries earth, 
And joy of those from whom we claime our birth. 

This celebration in the public schools of Chicago, if it be 
rightly understood, possesses something more than mere superficial 
significance. It is significant because its roots enter deeply not 
only into the life of the community, but of each individual, child 
as well as man. And that the people, youth as well as age, fully 
appreciate the sentiments of patriotism and realize their full 
import, the celebration in the different schools bears ample 
testimony. 

There are two things that come to mind without effort in 
contemplating the part taken by the school children in the cele- 
bration of this Centennial anniversary. The first is that youth is 
naturally patriotic, and that it needs only time and occasion to 
find its full expression. The second thought is that patriotism 
obliterates the line of nationality. Look over the names of the 
children who took part in these ceremonies. They come from 
sunny Italy, from Scandinavia, France, Germany, Ireland — in 
fact, nearly every country of Europe is represented in the list. 
It is a most gratifying showing. It shows that the spirit of lib- 
erty has as strong a hold on the adopted citizen as on the native; 
that the institutions of this free land are so alluring that a man 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 105 

who comes to our shores is certain to be anchored with us and to 
throw himself heart and soul into the customs and institutions of 
his adopted country. And that so many foreigners have become 
a part of the fabric of our society, is the strongest evidence to be 
secured that America is indeed the land of the free and the home 
for the oppressed of all classes. In this Centennial celebration 
the children took no insignificant part. For several weeks the 
little ones had been undergoing the necessary training prepara- 
tory to the due observance of the day. The brightest pupils in 
each of the classes were selected to read original compositions or 
to declaim the finished orations of the foremost men of the coun- 
try during the century just closed. All classes were taught to 
sing the patriotic songs which inspired our soldiers to many noble 
deeds on the eve of many a bloody battle. They had daily les- 
sons in the constitutional and political history of our country, 
and, judged by the results of this celebration, the teachings were 
of the greatest value. The essays, on the whole, indicated con- 
siderable study both of the Declaration of Independence and 
the Constitution, and the manner in which the gems of American 
oratoiy were delivered by pupils not out of their teens showed 
that the infantile mind had grasped the true significance of 
American patriotism. Dressed in holiday attire and carrying 
small flags in their coat lapels and knots of red, white and blue in 
place of the usual corsage bouquet, the boys and girls trooped to 
their respective schools in happy spirits. Most of the class-rooms 
were gaily decorated with flags, streamers and bunting. The 
sternness of school discipline and the dull routine of school 
life were conspicuously absent. It was a holiday with a 
purpose. There was considerable similarity in the character 
of the programmes arranged for the day, but this was incident 
to the day and could not have been otherwise. The pro- 
grammes were well rendered, and there was no hitch in their 
fulfillment. Each number was redolent with the aroma of 
patriotism and the highest duties of citizenship; and as the little 
ones told of the brave deeds of the forefathers of our nation, 
hundreds of aged visitors felt the blood run faster through their 
veins, and they thought involuntarily of the years past, when the 
few surviving heroes of the Revolutionary epoch had told of the 



106 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

times that try men's souls, and listened with rapt attention to the 
recital of those deeds in which they had taken such an active 
part. The addresses were by men who had won distinction in 
professional and commercial life. The speakers showed their 
youthful hearers the beauties of a government of the people, for 
the people, and by the people. At the close of the exercises 
each pupil was presented with a medal in commemoration of the 
event. 

Below is the programme as arranged by the committee having 

the matter in charge: 

I. 

1. Appropriate devotional exercises. 

2. The national flag to be displayed from all school buildings. 

II. 

1. The pupils of the high schools meet in the halls of their 
respective buildings at 10:30 o'clock a. m. 

2. Singing of patriotic songs. 

3. Essays and declamations on patriots and patriotism. 

4. Recitation of historic facts pertaining to the formation and 
adoption of the Constitution of the United States. 

5. Recitation of patriotic quotations from the speeches and 
writings of the founders of the nation. 

6. Addresses suggested by the occasion by speakers appointed 
by the committee. 

7. Presentation of memorial medals. 

III. 

1. The pupils of the primary department and of the lower 
grades of the grammar department assemble in the rooms or halls 
of their respective school buildings in charge of their own teachers 
as 10:30 o'clock a. m. 

2. Singing of patriotic songs. 

3. Recitation of patriotic quotations. 

4. Reception of memorial medals. 

5. Singing of "America" in conclusion. 

IV. 

1. The pupils of the higher grammar grades assemble in 
their school buildings in charge of their regular teachers at 10:30 
o'clock a. m. 

2. An appropriate song. 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 107 

3. Recitation of historic facts concerning the organization of 
the Government of the United States. 

4. Recitation of Whtttier's "Centennial Ode." 

5. Song, Keller's "American Hymn." 

6. Recitation of patriotic quotations. 

7. Addresses by speakers designated by the committee. 

8. Presentation of memorial medals. 

9. Song, "America." 



CELEBRATION IN THE VARIOUS SCHOOLS. 



NORTH DIVISION HIGH SCHOOL. 
At the North Division High School the exercises were of an 
interesting character. There was no attempt at decoration or 
display, and a spirit of earnestness marked all the proceedings. 
The audience filled every inch of space in the large auditorium. 
The young ladies wore small white flags in place of the usual 
badge, and the younger pupils were decorated with knots of the 
national colors. The exercises began with the singing of the 
"Star Spangled Banner." The Governor's proclamation was 
read, and then followed in their turn essays, dialogues, and songs. 
The Hon. A. M. Pence delivered an effective address on the 
necessity existing among mankind for self-government, and 
explained wherein the government of the United States was the 
best mankind had yet devised. The Constitution was the organic 
law of the country, which the Supreme Court had been instituted 
to sustain. The Rev. Dr. Mclntyre was the next speaker. He 
pitied the man who, at this time of celebration, could do nothing 
better than indulge in croakings, and was not satisfied with the 
social, moral, and material conditions with which he was sur- 
rounded. Such a man was out of harmony with the spirit of Amer- 
ican institutions. He was the cause of discord in the body poli- 
tic. Never in the history of the country were there better men or 
purer women. The world was constantly growing better despite 
the pessimistic views of many, preachers included. America, 
the youngest of nations, paved the way for peace. It is fighting 



108 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

the battle for freedom for the whole world, and will succeed 
unless the people become demoralized and give the reins of 
power into the hands of boodlers and political thieves. A brief 
address by Mr. Henry S. Boutell closed the programme. Mr. 
Boutell told of the advantages of the constitutional form of gov- 
ernment to the people at large. Those pupils who participated 
prominently were: Lillie A. Burtheimer, Fred W. Niblock, Jen- 
nie Franklin, Howard H. Davenport, Walter C. Rain. 

SOUTH DIVISION HIGH SCHOOL. 

The exercises at the South Division High School passed off 
in a happy manner. The decorations were unusually complete, 
consisting of flags and bunting, while over the Wabash avenue 
entrance was a large banner. The national colors were displayed 
wherever it was possible to show them. The feature of the cele- 
bration at this school was the presence of an orchestra composed 
entirely of the young men of the school, as follows: First vio- 
lins, Henry Mitchell, Charles Iverson, Willie Bond, George Ston- 
ham, Benjamin Enhale. Second violins, Clarence Willett, John 
Kelly. Cornets, Edward Griswold, Frank Hanson, Samuel 
Barnes, George Stein. Miss H. Simmonds was accompanist. 
Shortly after 1 1 o'clock the exercises of the day were opened 
with a short prayer, followed by a selection from the orchestra. 
Mr. J. Lipsohn read the Governor's proclamation. Clarence T. 
Miller read an essay on " Patriotism and Honor," and Miss Kate 
Reed one on "Two Inaugurations." They were both scholarly 
efforts and were received with many manifestations of pleasure 
from the large audience. Patriotic addresses were made by Mr. 
D. L. Shorey and the Rev. Dr. J. H. Barrows. Principal Slocum 
distributed the celebration medals. He compared 1789 and 1889 
as two piers and said that the present occasion was a bridge that 
spanned the chasm between. Speaking of the medals, he said 
that it was not their intrinsic worth that gave them their value, 
" but may the memories called up remind you of the grandest 
events in your country's history', and beget an honest and joyful 
pride that you are an American." Music was interspersed 
throughout the programme, the whole serving to make an enjoy- 
able occasion. 



OF \VA SUING TON ' S IN A UG UK A TION. 109 

WEST DIVISION HIGH SCHOOL. 
One of the features of the celebration at this school was the 
presence of Gov. Fifer and his staff. These distinguished visitors 
were under the charge of the following committee: Mr. George E. 
Adams, Mr. S. D. Kimbark, Mr. W. H. Harper. Mr. Fred L. Forch, 
Mr. Graeme Stewart. The gentlemen occupied seats on the plat- 
form and took great interest in the exercises. There were over one 
thousand flags and much bunting displayed. But more indisput- 
able than these evidences of a gala day was the enthusiasm of the 
pupils. Marshalled by their respective teachers, they marched 
up stairs, where seats had been provided for them. At the head 
of each school room walked two little misses bearing aloft the 
Stars and Stripes. Each pupil carried a small flag or wore the 
national colors in badges, scarfs or hair ribbons. " I am proud of 
this day, young ladies and gentlemen seated before me," said 
Gov. Fifcr, turning to Mr. Stewart; "this is indeed an inspiring 
sight, and I am glad to be here." The exercises began with the 
singing by the pupils of the " Ode to Washington," written by 
Supt. Rowland. The programme was an interesting one. Prin- 
cipal Wells delivered the welcoming address. Mr. Robert Shaw 
followed with "What Constitutes a Citizen." Gov. Fifer deliv- 
ered an address to the children and so did Congressman Mason. 
There was music, a poem by W. M. Paine, presentation of a 
handsome flag, and a charming representative tableau of the 
"States," by forty-two young girls, with a grand solo. 

AT THE KEITH SCHOOL. 
At the Keith School every pupil took some part in the exer- 
cises of the day. The schoolhouse was thronged with visitors, and 
the rooms were artistically decorated with festoons of flags, ever-, 
greens and flowers. Portraits of prominent men of Revolution- 
ary fame were a noticeable feature, and the whole was set 
off with shields and escutcheons in colored crayon, making a very 
pretty effect. The larger children recited patriotic sentiments 
which were culled from the poetry and prose of prominent 
authors, and the dialogues were arranged so that a number could 
take part in them. The little children, under the leadership of 
Miss Perdue and Miss Fletcher, gave a military drill with flags, 



no CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

and the little ones sang with much intelligence and good execu- 
tion the songs, "The Red, White and Blue," " Columbia " and 
" America." It is not necessary to state that the singing of the 
little ones created much enthusiasm. Another noticeable feature 
in the entertainment of this school was the recitation, in Miss 
McGrath's division, of a composition entitled " The Story of the 
Day," written for the occasion by Miss Meta Wellar of this 
school, and recited by thirty-nine pupils. The little ones seemed 
to enter heartily into the spirit of the piece. In another room 
" Miss Columbia's Tea Party," in which all the states were repre- 
sented in costume, was a unique idea. In Miss Nelson's room 
" Liberty's Call," a dialogue in costume, was the principal attrac- 
tion. Thirty-eight prettily attired young girls, robed in the 
emblems of our national Union, were received by Liberty; while 
four little misses rapped for admission and were invested with 
the honors of statehood, completing the gala.xy of forty-two 
stars. Perhaps the centre of attraction was to be found in Miss 
McConville's room, where the largest audience was gathered and 
where an interesting programme was given. In this programme 
was included a dialogue of the original thirteen states. The 
pupils of Miss McGarren and Miss Wellar gave their e.xercises in 
room No. I, which was liberally decorated for the occasion. The 
musical programme was unusually excellent. An interesting 
debate in the Continental Congress was given by boys in 
costume. Mr. Adams of Massachusetts, Mr. Bartlett of New 
Hampshire, Mr. Dickinson of Pennsylvania, and other famous 
Revolutionary characters made stirring speeches for liberty, and at 
the close signed the Declaration of Independence, winning pro- 
longed cheers. A blooming young miss in costume, with her 
hair powdered a snowy white and wearing an old-fashioned russet 
silk, read an eulogy on Lady Washington. A composition 
entitled "Advocating the Constitution," participated in by eigh- 
teen girls, was composed by Miss Meta Wellar. 

After the regular programme had been finished, Mr. E. G. 
Keith delivered a very interesting address, which was listened to 
with profound attention by the entire audience. Mr. Keith 
opened his address by referring significantly to the occasion, and 
quoting the memorable lines of John Adams to his wife on the 



OF IVASm.VGTOX'S INA UGUHATIOiV. Ill 

3d of July, the day before the adoption of the Declaration of 
Independence by the Congress: "This day should be commemo- 
rated as a day of devotion by solemn acts of devotion to Almighty 
God. It should be celebrated by pomp, shows, guns, bells, bonfires 
and illuminations from one end of the land to the other from this 
day forward forever! You may think me transported with enthusi- 
asm, but I am not. I am well aware of the toil, blood and treasure 
that it will cost us to maintain this declaration, and to support 
and defend these states. All through the gloom I can see the 
rays of light the clearer. I can see the end as worthy of more 
than all the means, and that prosperity will triumph, although 
you and I may rue it, which I hope we shall not." Taking 
this as his text, Mr. Keith went on to show how America has 
more than fulfilled the bright prophecy of Mr. Adams. He said: 
In 1789 we were a nation of 3,000,000 people, many of whom 
were slaves. To-day we number 60,000,000 or more, all free. Dur- 
ing the Revolutionary War John Adams wrote to his wife to take 
care that the children do not go astray. Cultivate their minds, 
inspire their ways, raise their wishes, fix their attention upon grand 
and glorious objects. Read to them from the lives of illustrious 
thinkers, widen their minds, and make them good and manly; 
teach them to scorn injustice, cowardice, and falsehood. Teach 
them to revere nothing but religion, morality and liberty. And it 
is in this spirit that I ask you to-day to turn your thoughts toward 
these illustrious sentiments when you come to bear rule as citizens 
of this mighty republic. First of all, do not fail to cast a conscien- 
tious vote; and for you, young women, who cannot vote, you can 
at least teach some one to vote right. Strive ever to put the best 
and purest men in public office; and those habits which you now 
form in your school life, if made part of your every-day existence, 
will prove the best for you and the highest happiness for your 
fellow-men. It has been said that patriotism is a weak plant, and 
thrives best on need and on self-sacrifice. We regard that of little 
value which we obtain without struggle, and if we would continue 
to prosper as in the days of our fathers, we must study their heroic 
lives, that we may be stirred by them to noble deeds. Study your 
country's history until it becomes as familiar to you as your own 
lives. Read the story of the virtues and self-sacrifices of Washing- 
ton, Hamilton, Adams, Jay, Franklin, Webster, Lincoln, and Grant; 
knowing their lofty aims and contemplating their virtues, we shall 
uplift our own lives to their splendid standard; emulating their 
lofty examples, we shall partake of their exalted patriotism. 



lia CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

THE RAYMOND SCHOOL. 

At the Raymond School a large audience gathered to partici- 
pate in the celebration. A very interesting programme was 
offered. The large hall was tastefully decorated with pictures, 
flags, flowers, and bunting, and each of the pupils seemed to enter 
heartily into the spirit of the occasion and performed his or her 
respective part very well. The two addresses were made by Judge 
H. M. Shepard and Mr. George C. Ingham, both of which were 
scholarly and patriotic efforts, and were highly appreciated by 
the large audience. In the course of his remarks Judge Shepard 
referred to the cause of the delay in the adoption of the Constitu- 
tion. The first confederation of the states was without power to 
enforce its mandates and for nineteen years was represented only 
by the Continental Congress. The first idea was to present all 
common grievances to the King, and there was no thought 
of separation from the mother country. Speaking of the patriot- 
ism and self-sacrifice of the heroes of the Revolution, Judge 
Shepard said : "To us at this day it is apparent that it was 
through the lessons of early self-government that we owe the 
scheme of government embodied in that remarkable instrument 
of liberty adopted one hundred years ago, and which we cele- 
brate to-day; and proud indeed must any member of this school 
be who to-day can trace his descent from one of the illustrious 
men of that early time." The speaker concluded his remarks 
with the following words : 

The union of federation and local self-government has been 
declared by two of the most celebrated politico-historical writers of 
the day to be nothing more than the grafting of the old Connecticut 
system of local self-government on the stock of the old federation, 
a union of the commonwealth and town rights, represented in the 
union by a combination of national and state rights. In the colo- 
nies there had always been much freedom in purely local matters. 
The people of these days had become accustomed, long before the 
Revolution, to interest themselves in the affairs of practical gov- 
ernment. Long war and the experiences of the Continental Con- 
gress had shown the need of union, and had given an insight into 
what was necessary to make the government effective. It was not, 
therefore, as remarkable as at first appears, that such men should 
frame a Constitution the wisdom of which has been demonstrated 
by the experiences of one hundred years. To you, young men and 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 113 

women, this precious heritage of a free Constitution will soon be 
handed down. The old men will soon give place to you. It was 
said of New England, many years ago, that she was poor in all 
things except men. And the best crop that any land can raise is 
that of industrious, thoughtful men. Each generation of men, like 
every crop of grain, must be equal to the demand, or disaster will 
follow. Don't beguile yourselves into a sense of security. The 
national freedom for which your fathers fought will only remain 
with you at the price of eternal vigilance. Believe in the proverb 
that the might of right will prevail. Study the Constitution of 
your country and the causes from which it sprung, and appreciate 
and love its majesty; and the stupendous necessity of maintaining 
it at any cost being fully revealed to you, posterity will owe to you 
the same debt of gratitude which you owe to those now gone 
before. 

Those pupils who took a prominent part in the celebration 
exercises, were Hagar Metz, Susanna Madden, Ida Becker, Helen 
Maine. 

HEADLEY SCHOOL. 

The new school flag was unfurled at the Headley School in 
the presence of patrons and friends who assembled to witness 
this interesting ceremony at lo o'clock in the morning. An 
entertaining programme had been provided, in which singing 
and patriotic selections formed an interesting feature. The exer- 
cises connected with the unfurling of the flag occurred in the 
open air. Mr. Charles J. Sundell of the Chicago Board of Edu- 
cation, delivered the oration. " This is beyond comparison," he 
said, "the grandest anniversary of the nation's history, aiid 
should receive special celebration in the hearts of every true 
American. The younger generations in our free public scliools 
should glorify this day, and should learn from it a new lesson of 
lofty patriotism in every true American feeling, into which no 
foreign sentiment should be allowed to find place. While other 
nations have had their great men, from Alexander to Bismarck, 
they have all of them been animated by a desire for conquest, 
for subjugation of their fellow-men and for the gratification of 
personal vanity; while Washington and the framers of our Con- 
stitution were actuated by the noblest feeling of the human 
breast, that of making the American people free and independent 
in a government the most natural of all, namely, a government 



114 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

'of the people, for the people, and by the people.' Through this 
war the people achieved one of the grandest acts of power that a 
single mind in its moral condition can perform, that of institut- 
ing a new government and making free a new country. It was 
on this day one hundred years ago that Washington was inau- 
gurated and took the oath of office at Federal Hall in New York 
City, in the presence of the first Congress, civic and military 
parades and a vast concourse of people. First in war and first in 
peace, he was installed in the foremost position of leadership in 
the Union, which was soon to become, as it has become, great, 
grand and glorious, and which shall remain one and inseparable 
now and forever more! Let us keep constantly in mind the 
memory of our fathers, the greatness they obtained in the history 
of our country, in the ages of mankind and in the story of 
civilization." 

Mr. Sundell's address concluded, the pupils went to their 
various rooms, where they listened to the different programmes 
prepared for them. In Room i was displayed a portrait of 
George Washington, draped with the national colors and pre- 
sented to the school by the graduating class of 1889. It was 
presented by Mr. J. Reichmann on behalf of the class. The Rev. 
Mr. Scott pronounced the benediction. 

SKINNER SCHOOL. 
The Centennial Celebration at this school was a noteworthy 
event. At 10:30 in the morning the pupils formed in procession 
and marched to the school yard, each child carrying a small flag, 
and each class led by a pupil carrying a large flag. At 1 1 o'clock 
the national colors were unfurled with hearty cheers from the 
large audience present. The song "America" was sung, the Gov- 
ernor's proclamation read, and interesting addresses delivered by 
Judge McConnell and Mr. James S. Harvey. The following is an 
abstract of Judge McConnell's speech : 

It is well for us to-daj', both young and old, to try to fully 
appreciate the occasion of which this is the hundredth anniversary. 
We cannot tell of it, we cannot contemplate it, without such con- 
templation giving us greater loyalty to our institutions, greater 
devotion to our country. After long trials with the primeval for- 
ests, after many hardships, after eight long years of bloody warfare, 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 115 

after innumerable trials and misfortunes, a great man, whose iionor 
we celebrate to-day, led our armies to victory one hundred years 
ago. Washington was great as a soldier, wise as a statesman, and 
admirable as a private citizen, and every boy and girl should be 
familiar with his noble character and tlie history of his great 
achievements. We are also celebrating the hundredth anniversary 
of federal representation under the terms and limitations of a free 
Constitution. It has been left for our ancestors to make the great 
experiment, and through their bravery to earn for themselves a 
"government by the people, for the people, and of the people." It 
is for us to preserve, and when necessary to improve, this govern- 
ment. Both young and old should feel this responsibility. We 
must try to be good citizens. We cannot be so unless we under- 
stand our institutions, and are brave and sincere in our efforts to 
be good citizens. I trust that while we celebrate we may in time 
become more and more active citizens. We can pay no higher 
tribute of worth to Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Clay and Frank- 
lin than in our esteem and resolution to be good citizens in a 
Union that came to us through the practice of their zeal, their 
patriotism and their wisdom. 

Following is an extract from Mr. Harvey's address: 

The celebration which we honor to-day is the grandest in the 
whole world. Throughout this broad land sixty millions of people 
cease from their toils and celebrate the birthday of the nation. 
With the discovery of the New World came three conquerors, who 
disputed the possession of the soil. Spain came for plunder, 
France for glory, but England's sons were attracted by another 
motive. They came as individuals who desired the privilege of 
worshiping God according to the dictates of their own consciences 
and what they believed to be right. They turned the prows of 
their ships toward New England, that they might find there free- 
dom of common conscience. The colonies grew, thrived and pros- 
pered; and when the country at home awoke to their importance, 
they attempted to draw tighter the reins of government and 
undertook to exercise it without the people's wish or interest. 
After six years of hydra-headed authority the people again assem- 
bled in convention, in order to form a more perfect union, establish 
justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common 
defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of 
liberty to ourselves and our posterity. To do this they ordained 
and established this Constitution of the United States. And this 
is the Constitution under which we live to-day. If we would appre- 
ciate the liberties for which our fathers fought, toiled and tried; if 



116 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

we would gain a clearer appreciation of the twin oaks of freedom, 
liberty of conscience and liberty of government toward all man- 
kind, we should strive as reverently as did our fathers one hundred 
years ago to make His word and His spirit our guide in all we 
undertake. 

After the address the formal programme was completed and 
"America" sung by the audience amid much enthusiasm. The 
interior decorations of this school merit special commendation. 
They were entirely the work of the pupils. 

TILDEN SCHOOL. 

At the Tilden School the regular programme, singing and rec- 
itations, was varied by some very pretty patriotic tableaux, one 
representing "Columbia and the Original Thirteen States," and 
the other representing "Additional States." Twenty-three 
pupils also helped with the formal exercises, reciting patriotic 
quotations. The addresses were delivered by Dr. J. R. Corbus 
and Dr. Carlos Montezuma. Dr. Montezuma spoke in substance 
as follows: 

There has been a period of nearly one hundred years in our 
nation's history since George Washington was inaugurated Presi- 
dent of the United States. Soon followed a great war for liberty, 
freedom and just rights. And all this was not obtained until we 
had filled over a hundred thousand graves. Wonderful indeed has 
been the history of America. We hear to-day the hum of the 
spindle, the clang of the hammer, the rattling of the printing press, 
the roar of the railroad train, the rush of the steam engine, and the 
clash of machinery by means of electricity. We also have our 
educational institutions and our churches where one may worship, 
where we exercise liberty of conscience, and where none dare 
molest us. It is for us to decide who shall direct our institutions, 
who shall form our opinions. Shall we be ruled by men who love 
their country, or shall we be governed by men who gratify only 
their own selfish desire and seek to gratify only their own ambi- 
tious ends? Shall we be ruled by foreign lands, or shall we see 
order and freedom in this land, so that when a foreigner steps on 
our shore, in a little while he shall say: " Let me then remain 
among you, with your people as my people, your God as my God." 
The flag of our country is the emblem of peace, the emblem of 
securitj', and the emblem of strength for time and eternity. 
Rejoice and be glad, for the Lord thy God hath not dealt so with 
any other land. 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 117 

Dr. Corbus's remarks were, in substance: 

One hundred years ago the first Continental Congress met in 
New York. It was the 4th day of March, 1789. The government 
was not in full running order until April 30. It was on that day 
that George Washington was made President of the United States 
of America. During the century which has intervened from Wash- 
ington to Harrison, a tremendous change has been wrought in our 
country's history. Great indeed has been the advance in science, 
trade and the arts through the wonderful inventions of the past 
hundred years. The name of George Washington has sounded 
down the century past, and the music of that name now fills every 
breast. It is lisped by prattling babes and eulogized by our great- 
est men. Reverently we speak it. Judge Marshall, in his wonder- 
ful words on Washington at the time of the latter's death in 1799, 
rightly called him "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts 
of his countrymen." 

MOTLEY SCHOOL. 

At the Motley School the celebration was confined to the gen- 
eral programme arranged for the occasion. There was singing, 
recitations, essays on " Patrioti.sm," "George Washington," also 
two dialogues, one "Uncle Sam and His Supporters," partici- 
pated in by twenty-four boys, who represented Uncle Sam 
and the twenty-three Presidents from Washington to Harrison; 
and the other, "Across the Years," twenty girls, ten representing 
1789 and ten 1889. A large audience enjoyed the exercises. 

ROGERS SCHOOL. 
After singing Keller's hymn, "America," the children marched 
to the school yard, where the regular programme was given, and 
much enjoyed by the large audience. Noteworthy among the 
special features were the following: "Paul Revere's Ride," by 
fourteen children ; patriotic quotations from Evarts, Patrick 
Henry, and from the letters of Washington. The singing was 
good and the essays were given with much spirit. 

ANDERSEN SCHOOL. 
The pupils of this school commenced the day's programme 
by singing the "Battle Hymn of the Nation," after which the 
regular programme was given. In the rooms of the smaller chil- 
dren appropriate speeches were made, with patriotic quotations 



118 ailCAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

interspersed between. Each child had a flag and a rosette, and 
at the close all were sent home wearing the souvenir medals pre- 
pared ioy the occasion. The children gathereil in the hall, which 
was crowded to its utmost capacit)'. The programme included 
singing, essays, and patriotic quotations from John Ailams, Wash- 
ington, and Pickering. Excellent addresses were delivered by 
Mr. iM-ank Wenter and Senator B. A. Eckhardt. 

KINZIE SCHOOL. 
Over five hundred persons gathered at the Kinzie School and 
lustily shouted when the national colors were given to the 
breeze, at once joining in the stirring song "Rally Round the 
Flag, Boys." The little ones and their friends then marched to 
their various rooms, where they listened to music, singing and 
addresses. There were some very beautiful dialogues and essays 
which showed considerable thought. The address by Prof. 
Matellini was of great interest. Said he: 

To us who find ourselves pupils or teachers in public schools, 
permit me to remind you of the grandeur of this day. Its great- 
ness, its strength is largely due to these same public schools. You 
well know the great part education plays in the history of the 
country, and thercfdre I exhort you to foster and sustain the public 
school. Education will make good citizens. Without it there can 
be no good citizens. Education has done more for civilization 
than wars. Strive to make your lives worthy of your country, so 
that your names will be as venerated and honored as those now 
gone before. 

rK.VRSON STREKT SCHOOI,. 

The exercises at the Pearson Street School were in accord- 
ance with the formal programme. There were essays on "Wash- 
ington," on "Liberty" and on "Freedom," singing, dialogues and 
patriotic quotations. The programme, while an ambitious one, 
was well rendered, and seemed to be heartily enjoyed by the 
large audience present. 

I'ICK.VRD SCHOOL. 

At the Pickard School the exercises were opened with a very 

pretty drill by thirty young girls dressed in red, white and blue, 

headed b)- three waving the national colors. The school sang 

" O Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean," and as the flag was 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 119 

unfurled prolonged cheers burst from the 8oo assembled guests. 
In the various rooms the regular programme was followed. The 
decorations were very tasteful, consisting of bunting, pictures, 
flags and an elaborate ship of state. In Room 3 the pro- 
gramme was varied by an interesting exercise of sixteen pupils, 
eight on one side of the room representing 1789, and eight 
on the other representing 1889, and each one carrying a Harrison 
banner. The exercises in the lower rooms were very commend- 
ably performed. 

The blackboard decorations were done by Thomas Jehnek. 

OAK STREET SCHOOL. 

At the Oak Street School there was much patriotism 
awakened by the programme, not only among the pupils, but in 
the audience as well. Washington was considered from every 
point of view, and his high moral courage, his noble patriotism 
and his beauty of character plainly brought out to every one 
present. The music was excellent and the recitations very 
creditable. 

COTTAGE GROVE SCHOOL. 

The pupils assembled at 10:30 in the school-yard and broke 
into lusty cheers when the national colors were hoisted on the 
main building. Cheer followed cheer as the flag ran up. The 
pupils then formed themselves in a double column, and led by 
"Columbia" and the original thirteen states, filed into the hall, 
where "Columbia" and the original thirteen took seats on the 
stage. The formal programme consisted of essays, songs, 
speeches on Washington in childhood, as Commander, as Presi- 
dent, and the influence of his life on contemporary times. The 
unique drill of twenty-four girls in red, white and blue, with light 
blue sashes, was a pleasant diversion from the formal programme. 
Worthy of special mention was the tableau of the thirteen origi- 
nal states. The states, headed by "Columbia," marched to the 
stage, where they formed themselves in a semi-circle, with "Colum- 
bia" in the centre. Bits of history, patriotic sentiments and 
appropriate quotations were recited, the interesting exhibition 
closing by pretty grouping of the thirteen states. 

Judge Doolittle delivered an address on Washington, declaring 



120 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

him to be a preternatural man clearly sent by heaven to relieve 
us in our dire distress. America seemed above all to be favored 
by God, for from time to time great men have arisen at times 
of great crises and led us forward over the exigency. The 
Rev. Jenkyn Lloyd Jones spoke to the children. He placed 
Horace Mann, William Lloyd Garrison and Louis Agassiz before 
them as high types that the country had produced. 

The following pupils filled prominent parts on the programme 
in the highest seven rooms, which joined in holding a general 
celebration: Hiram Patterson, George McBean, Harris Forsythe, 
Robert Forsythe, Minnie Bushnell, Edith Boake, Cyrus Tollman, 
Mabel Richards, Grace Fiedler, Louise Kraus. 

GRANT SCHOOL. 

The assembly hall of the Grant School was crowded to its 
utmost capacity. The pupils gathered in their various rooms 
and listened to the programmes prepared for them. The recita- 
tions were well read and the songs well sung. Addresses were 
made by Robert A. Childs, Dr. Wallace, and Mr. J. H. S. Quick. 

These pupils took part in the Centennial exercises: Annie 
Sternberg, Florence Traye, Olive Prica, Sadie Briggs, B. White, 
Nathan Guest, James Buffton, MolUe Rue, Walter Ayers, Lillie 
Parker, Abe Frankenstein. 

HURON STREET SCHOOL. 
The first feature of the exercises at this school was the unfurl- 
ing of the flag in the presence of the pupils, patrons and friends. 
Following this was the singing of the song " Our Country's Flag." 
Capt. C. C. Merrick delivered the address, saying: 

We meet to-day to celebrate an event which could only have 
been brought about by a people imbued with patriotism We meet 
to celebrate that true devotion and sturdiness which makes true 
citizenship, and to render homage to those who sacrificed their 
lives in the faith of their country. Especially do we commemorate 
the self-sacrifices of our ancestors and the splendid system of uni- 
versal education through them made possible, so that to-day in our 
free land our youth may acquire whatever is necessary to fit them 
for any station in life. This is a day to be commemorated by the 
old as well as the young. Ours is one flag, one land, one people, 
the grandest nation on the face of the earth. 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 121 

Those who took part in the formal exercises were: Grace Ver- 
rill, Gerty Worth, Charles Slip, Mammie Meyers, Edith Stafford, 
Louis Egir. 

JONES SCHOOL. 
The exercises at this school were of a very interesting charac- 
ter. Those of the pupils who took active parts were, in Room i: 
I. Brink-worth, Ella Derrick, M. Raymond, N. Schiefstein, C. Cor- 
rigan. The Rev. Dr. W. H. Bolton spoke in half a dozen 
rooms, the scholars being under the charge of their own teachers. 
Mr. Fernando Jones, after whose father the school was named, and 
whose picture adorned the walls, said, pointing to the picture of 
Gen. Washington, which the speaker had presented to the school, 
that it was from a painting by Stuart, and gave a very correct like- 
ness of Washington. Washington's character is one to study and 
reverence. We should formulate our lives upon Washington's 
character. The nearer we come to being what Washington was, 
the nearer we come to living lives marked by nobility and patriot- 
ism. A touching incident in the celebration at this school was 
the rising in her seat of Mrs. R. Elam, an old lady, who said that 
for more than fifty-six years she had watched the progress of this 
school, and that she had known the school from the time it was 
a log hut on the edge of the wilderness. She was intimately 
acquainted with the founder, Mr. Jones, and she wished to see the 
school live and prosper in the future as it had done in the past. 
The exercises in the lower rooms were of an entertaining charac- 
ter. In Room i6 Sig. Camillo Volina delivered an address in 
Italian. 

BURR SCHOOL. 

At the Burr School at 10:30 the pupils of two rooms met in 
the hall and the group thus formed in the various rooms held 
each its own exercises, consisting of patriotic songs, quotations, 
recitations and essays. The rooms were decorated with flags and 
bunting, and the blackboards with patriotic drawings. Every 
room had its own speaker. These were assigned as follows : 

Room I.— The Rev. Wilbur Satterfield. 

Room 2. — The Rev. Thomas Collins. 

Rooms 3 and 4. — Mr. Horth. 

Rooms 5 and 6. — Mr. R. A. Haase. 



133 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

Rooms 7 and 8. — Mr. George Warr. 
Rooms 9 and lo. — Mr. Mossup. 
Rooms II and 12. — Mrs. Montgomery. 
Rooms 13 and 15. — Mr. George Hopkins. 
Room 14. — Mr. Thomas Bolger. 
Rooms 16 and 19. — Mr. John Nuveen. 
Rooms 17 and 18. — Mr. T. P. Jones. 
Room 20. — Mrs. Whiffenbeck. 
Rooms 21 and 22. — Dr. Fanny Leake. 
Rooms 23 and 24. — Mrs. E. Page. 

At 11:30 o'clock the pupils, their friends and patrons, to the 
number of three thousand, assembled in the school yard, cheering 
lustily as the national flag was unfurled. Mr. Millard B. Hereley 
delivered the address, speaking as follows: 

It gives me great pleasure to-day to see so many happy faces 
that live under the stars and stripes, and that have gathered to do 
homage to the nation's anniversary. This is indeed the land of the 
free and the home of the brave. Many of your fathers came from 
homes beyond the sea. Did you ever note how many people come 
here to make their homes from foreign lands, while so very few 
ever leave here to seek a new home in other lands? Why is this 
so? It is because our country insures perfect freedom, which is of 
more value than life itself. We should never forget those who one 
hundred years ago offered their lives that we to-day might be free. 

CENTRAL PARK SCHOOL. 
The exercises at this school were preceded by a flag-raising 
and salute. This was decidedly the feature of the occasion. The 
pupils gathered first in their respective rooms, then formed in 
line and marched, grade by grade, from the front hall down into 
the yard, where friends and patrons had gathered. Many of the 
girls were in special costume, some dressed in Martha Washing- 
ton style and others representing the original thirteen states. The 
singing was conducted by Nora Condry, one of the pupils, and 
by the cornetist, Harry Robinson. After marching back to their 
respective rooms the pupils rendered the exercises, composed of 
speaking, recitations, reading of compositions and singing. In 
one room "Martha Washington's Tea Party" was given by a little 
girl in ancient attire. In another room the thirteen original col- 
onies made their appearance before a modern audience. In 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 123 

another room Martha Washington herself appeared, seated by a 
small tea stand in a position of honor on the stage. Mr. George 
W. Spofford delivered the address, visiting the various rooms for 
that purpose. His address was filled with patriotism and good 
advice. The rooms throughout the building were tastefully dec- 
orated. 

OAKLEY SCHOOL. 
At 10:45 the exercises were opened with an address and sing- 
ing, after which the pupils repaired to their several rooms, where 
the formal exercises were held. A large audience assembled to 
listen to the excellent programme. The decorations consisted of 
flags, bunting, and patriotic sentiments written on the black- 
boards. Mr. Philip Stein delivered an excellent address on the 
Constitution, explaining its object and purposes. Those who 
took part were: C. C. Dodge, Bertha Piper, James Castello, Clara 
Bennett, Glenn Hall, Allie Whittell, Cora Lynthcombe. A num- 
ber of visitors also made remarks to the pupils. 

GARFIELD SCHOOL. 

In front of this school building a large red, white and blue 
banner waved, and one hundred of the little ones sang "Three 
Cheers for the Red, White and Blue." The chorus was led by 
two young violinists, and proved a very enjoyable feature of the 
occasion. Room i was tastefully decorated with flags, banners 
and pictures. The seventh and eighth grades united in giving 
an excellent musical and literary programme. Thirteen young 
ladies, dressed in the national colors, represented the original 
thirteen states, and marched under the leadership of Miss Ella 
Pearson, who personated "Columbia," singing "O Columbia! the 
Gem of the Ocean." Among those who participated were the 
following: Mollie Crouse, Kate McMahon, Emma Lingenberg, 
Ada Young, Lizzie Finn, Frank Campbell, Abraham Addleson, 
Miss Baker. The addresses were made by Judge A. N. Water- 
man, the Rev. P. F. Matzinger, Mr. Frank Wenter, and Mr. H. 
H. Thomas. 

HEALY SCHOOL. 

The exercises at this school were opened with the formal pro- 
gramme prepared by the committee for this occasion. The 



134 CHICAGO'S CENTE.VNIAL CELEBRATION 

singing of patriotic songs, recitations and speeches formed the 
principal features of the day. 

LINCOLN SCHOOL. 

At this school the exercises were listened to by a large audi- 
ence. The unfurling of the new school flag was the first feature 
of the day. Short speeches were made by Dr. Johnstone and 
Mr. Frank J. Loesch. The programme was followed out in a 
creditable manner. 

SHERIDAN SCHOOL. 

The pupils, friends and patrons of this school joined in sing- 
ing " Our Flag is Still There," while the national colors were 
thrown to the breeze. The address of the day was made by Mr. 
John M. Southworth, who said: 

We look back to-day upon one hundred years of national prog- 
ress and success such as no nation on the face of the earth can 
furnish an equal example. One hundred years ago to-day the 
United States took its place among the nations of the earth, George 
Washington, the leading patriot of his time and the most illustri- 
ous man, being inaugurated President of the United States. This 
liberty, which is insured by the Declaration of Independence and 
granted by the Constitution, was only to be made a living reality 
in our land by dreadful harvests of death. As a people we enjoy 
more liberty, justice and equal rights than any nation on the face 
of the globe. We are a people imbued with the spirit of liberty, 
and are the fairest minded people in the world. No foreign power 
can ever prevail among our free people. To you, young persons, I 
would say, imbibe the spirit of liberty, study our institutions, learn 
the Declaration of Independence and contemplate the conditions 
under which it was issued. It is the greatest public document ever 
signed. Study the Constitution of your country. Remember that 
to you will soon be confided the great duties of its execution and 
preservation, and remember when you look upon the bright stars 
and broad stripes of your country's flag that no flag has ever 
enriched a people by the truth it represents as has ours. Our 
country is the harbor of the oppressed of every country across the 
sea, the haven into which they are received to homes of happiness. 
Our flag has been the emblem of armies noblest of the noble and 
mightiest of the mighty, yet never in any war has it been given to 
a foreign foe. In entering upon the second century of our nation's 
history, we should be thankful that we live in a land of equal 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 126 

rights, equal privileges, under the Constitution which we should 
maintain perfect and unimpaired, proving under it and under our 
form of government that the rights of many and the rational 
enjoyments of millions may be realized and enjoyed, that through 
its attributes of divinity, its liberty and justice, the human race 
will rise to the highest degree of civilization and the greatest per- 
fection attainable on the face of the earth. 

The pupils who took leading parts were: Minnie Casey, who 
assumed the role of Columbia, while those who represented the 
thirteen colonies were: Mamie Phalon, Clara Lippart, Charles 
Kriper, Frank Sweeny, Jessie Hawkins, Frieda Brown, Catherine 
Sweeney, Thomas S. Grimke, Eva Edmunds, Charles Drueck, 
Emma Bowting. 

FROEBEL SCHOOL. 

At this school the exercises were opened at 10:30 with the 
singing of "America." After this the pupils went to their various 
rooms, when the formal programme, prepared for the occasion, 
was rendered. Mr. Edward Roby and the Rev. Dr. S. F. 
Smith, the venerable author of the hymn "America," carried out 
the programme, which was replete with good features. The 
pupils who took prominent parts were: Lizzie Lindstrom, Albert 
Sandquist, Alice Watson, Edwin Volk, Clara Falvey, Katie 
Adams, Julia Haighberg. At the request of the principal, the 
venerable author of the national hymn was asked to address a 
few words to the young. In introducing him, the principal, Mr. 
Henry C. Cox, said, "that he had sung 'America' as a boy, had 
sung it in camp, had sung it in Andersonville prison, had this 
morning sung it as a salute to the flag, had sung it in church, and 
would sing it again as a closing piece to the day's exercises. It 
was his wish," he said, "that not only might his pupils have the dis- 
tinguished honor of seeing the author of the hymn which had 
inspired so much patriotism in every land, but might have the 
more distinguished honor of hearing him speak." 

After gracefully acknowledging the compliment, Dr. Smith 
said : 

Since you have just sung the hymn "America," perhaps you 
would be interested in knowing something of its composition and 
the circumstances which led to its origin. In 1832 Mr. William 
Woodbury returned from Germany, where he had been studying 



126 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

the systems of music in use in their schools, bringing back with 
him a great pile of the books used to teach the youth the elements 
of music. The books were given into my hands with the instruc- 
tion that if I should see anything worthy of copying I should trans- 
late, if not I should write. I took the books and began turning the 
leaves until I came upon a song which impressed me in a peculiar 
way. I sang it through and at once wrote down on an old scrap of 
paper the hymn, "My Country, 'tis of Thee." As it appears to-day, 
so it was written in the first draft. Could I have realized at the 
time that the song would be taken up by millions, I certainly would 
have spent some time in revision. But it is as it is, and the people 
have made it theirs. 

Mr. Roby delivered an eloquent and impressive address, which 
was heartily appreciated by the large audience. 

VEDDER STREET SCHOOL. 
The flag unfurling, followed by the singing of a patriotic song, 
opened the exercises at this school, after which the pupils went 
to their respective rooms and listened to the formal programme 
prepared for the occasion. The rooms were prettily decorated 
with red, white and blue bunting, pictures of Washington and 
Harrison, and flags. The programme inspired considerable 
enthusiasm and was heartily enjoyed by the whole school. 

THROOP SCHOOL. 

The formal programme was closely followed at this school. 

There were three speakers: Mr. D. F. Bremner, Mr. Adolph 
Kraus and Mr. F. W. Young, whose addresses were good. Mr. 
Young said: 

It is difficult, if not impossible, to find perfection in anything 
human, but the system of government given us by the men of the 
Revolution is as nearly perfect as anything human can be. When 
it was first established the royalists of England predicted its early 
downfall. The looth anniversary of its birth we celebrate to-day, 
a hundred years full of changes, and it is here yet. Will it be here 
a hundred years from now or will it pass away, to be followed by 
despotism? The answer to a great extent lies with the children of 
this generation. It depends in a great measure on the conduct of 
the little boys of to-day and the influence of the little girls of 
to-day, whether the people of the country one hundred years from 
now will enjoy the rights of free government. 



Of lFAS//AVGrOsVS INAUGURATION. 137 

MOSLEY SCHOOL. 

At this school there was no attempt at a special exhibition, 
but each class gave its own programme. There was the unfurl- 
ing of the flag before the assembled pupils in the school grounds. 
Quotations were read from history, selections from the poets of 
the Revolution and pictures drawn on the blackboards, illustrat- 
ing the principal events of the last hundred years. In the eighth 
grade the children, dressed in colonial costume, gave an interest- 
ing representation of Washington's inaugural. An eloquent 
address was made by Bishop Cheney. Another speaker was Mr. 
W. D. Roys, an e.xtract from whose remarks is as follows: 

In the first hundred years of our national history we have 
developed scholars, heroes and martyrs, and we have learned to 
look upon our Constitution as that perfect model which united the 
discordant elements in the confederation into more fraternal rela- 
tions. Washington's memory lives and is celebrated by this 
national pageantry to-day by sixty millions of people. He builded 
for the future, and to-day we are building for the future under that 
flag which he unfurled in the wide e.\tent of the heavens, and 
which is to be the emblem of constitutional liberty forever. We 
shall never look so far into the future as when we look into the 
past and seize upon some ideal life and place it high in the heavens 
as a fixed star for our guidance and direction. Dean Maitland 
cried from the pulpit "Oh get innocency!" and today Washington 
cries to us from the lofty heights of undying fame "Oh keep loy- 
alty!" Thus shall every star emblazoned on our national banner 
shine resplendent forever. 

In the seventh grade the pupils in their exercises made the 
study of Washington a special feature of the celebration. 

FRANKLIN SCHOOL. 
Long before the hour set for the commencement of the exercises 
of this school, a large crowd had gathered before the school 
building. At 10:30 the enthusiasm of the pupils was increased by 
the unfurling of the national colors, the band playing the " Red, 
White and Blue." After the song a short address was made by Mr. 
Francis Walker, standing upon the steps of the building. He paid 
a touching tribute to the founders of the nation, spoke impressively 
of the price at which liberty had been bought, of the protection 
afforded by the American flag, and unfolded the advantages of a 



128 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

free country in which all men are equal. His desire was to 
impress on the children the importance of realizing the splendid 
future of this great country, who in a few years would become the 
voters of our land, and to whom would be confided the care of its 
institutions. With a knowledge of the history of past events we 
would be actuated by new objects and by patriotic feelings of 
the highest advantage to our country. 

At the conclusion of the address, " Hail Columbia" was sung, 
and the children and the invited guests went to their several 
rooms, where the programme prepared for the occasion was finely 
executed by the pupils. The decorations consisted of small flags 
and blackboard drawings of American eagles, American shields, 
and, in fact, everything American. 

MCCLELLAN SCHOOL. 
Immediately after the cheering at the unfurling of the national 
colors had subsided, the teachers, friends, patrons and pupils of 
this school filed into the room in which the exercises of the day 
were to be held. The rooms were tastefully decorated with 
flags, bunting, pictures of Washington and Lincoln, and other 
appropriate designs. In two of the highest grammar grades all 
the grammar grade pupils were assembled. The speeches of the 
day were delivered by the Hon. John F. Finerty and Mr. C. W. 
Martin. Both of these gentlemen delivered eloquent addresses. 
Mr. Martin concluded his address as follows: 

I have already made mention of the man who was more intimately 
connected with the foundation of the government than any other. 
We first knew him as a young lieutenant, saving the king's armies 
from destruction; next as a member of the Continental Congress; 
then commander-in-chief of the colonial forces; chairman of 
the committee that framed the Constitution; lastly, first President, 
twice unanimously elected. What shall we call him — warrior, 
patriot, or statesman ? George Washington is without a parallel 
in the history of the world. While the successful leader of a great 
revolution, his patriotism was without ambition. Caesar made 
himself perpetual dictator, and Brutus slew him for ambition. 
When Cromwell's Ironsides had placed England in his power, he 
placed himself at the head of a commonwealth with more power 
than a king. Napoleon, the offspring of the French Revolution, 
was not content with the kingdom of France and fell striving to 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 129 

make all Europe his empire. But George Washington, when his 
enemies had been conquered, and he himself might have been king, 
disbanded his army and withdrew to his quiet home at Mount 
Vernon. Regretfully he left it to guide for a time the Ship of 
State as no other man could have done; and he left as a final legacy 
to his countrymen those sage suggestions contained in his farewell 
address. Grand, inspired and patriotic, George Washington stands 
unrivaled in all history. To some the future was doubtful, to him 
it was sure. He formed plans that have assured to you and to me 
this great American republic. 

In the course of some eloquent remarks on the life, character 
and influence of Washington, Mr. Finerty declared that Washing- 
ton stood preeminent in tiie world's history as personating high 
moral courage and immortal patriotism. Washington's achieve- 
ments in arms were noble, modest and of unparalleled unselfishness. 
Called by his country, and placed at the head of the young 
republic, he did not conspire to murder its liberties, but rather 
to preserve and perpetuate them. He laid down the powers of 
office at the expiration of his term as President, as willingly as 
when supreme commander during the Revolution, he had dis- 
banded his armies and had laid down the sword of sovereign 
command. The speaker then contrasted present conditions with 
those of 17S9, and pointed out the beauty of maintaining a grand 
free country, united under one free flag, and guarded by a free 
Constitution. He paid a tribute to the free American s)-stem of 
public schools and the proficiency of the pupils, whose exercises 
he had witnessed. In the youth of America, as in the youth of 
nations everywhere, is to be found the hope of the future, but the 
American youth has more to fire his ambition than the youth of 
any other country. Born in the travail of a great Revolution; 
baptized in the blood of a fierce warfare, whose storm has rather 
strengthened than weakened the grand structure of our Union, 
our country has forever blotted from the pages of American 
history the foul stain of human slavery. He hoped that in the 
year of grace 1989, our children's children might join in the cele- 
bration of the second century of the perfection of the republic, 
and like their fathers before them, give thanks to the God of 
Liberty that they still dwelt in a country in which ruled no tyrants 
and pined no slaves. 



130 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

NEWBERRY SCHOOL. 
The day at this school was celebrated in patriotic style. 
From every corner and window of the building floated the 
glorious Stars and Stripes. The main entrance presented a hand- 
some appearance, draped as it was with the national colors. 
First, the large audience gathered in front of the building, where 
the exercises were commenced with the unfurling of the national 
colors. At a signal from the principal, the school sang 
"America," accompanied by two cornetists, O. J. Muellenbacher 
and Howard O. Snyder The pupils then fell into line, and with 
the cornets playing the " Stars and Stripes," marched into the 
building and into their several rooms. The divisions below the 
sixth grade had entertainments in their own rooms, while the five 
higher divisions gave a special programme in the assembly hall. 
The hall was handsomely decorated with flags, bunting and patri- 
otic designs. Short addresses were made by the principal of the 
school, Mr. C. P. Stowell, and by Mr. Edgar Madden. 

WELLS SCHOOL. 
At this school the celebration was marked by much enthusi- 
asm on the part of the large audience. In the seventh and eighth 
grades the programme was quite a pretentious one, being made 
up of studies of leading patriots, quotations and extracts from 
the writings of these great men. E.v-Mayor Roche and the Rev. 
Dr. Severinghaus delivered stirring addresses. Admirable musical 
features enlivened the occasion. 

OGDEN SCHOOL. 
No attempt was made at this school to gather the pupils 
together on account of the lack of accommodations, so the little 
ones assembled in their separate rooms, where the exercises of the 
day were held in a patriotic manner. The decorations were 
handsome, consisting of bunting, flags and festoons of evergreens. 
The blackboards were covered with patriotic emblems in colored 
chalk, representing important events in the first hundred years of 
our national history, scenes from the Revolution, and portraits of 
the great men of the day. Among the decorations were four 
handsome steel engravings, given to the school by Judge Elliott 
Anthony, and representing the signing of the Constitution, and 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 131 

portraits of Washington, Webster and Lincoln. The addresses in 
every room were delivered by Judge Anthony, Mr. William 
Vocke, Dr. S. W. Stryker and Gen. Stout. The programme was 
rendered by Charles Stevenson, Ira Bauer, Lilian Mallory, Nettie 
de Billbrass, Maude Rounseville, C. Anderson, Bertha Sloan. 

SCAMMON SCHOOL. 
The pupils of this school assembled in front of the building 
to listen to the addresses of Mr. Thomas Cratty, Mr. Anthony 
Culver and Mr. David Felsenthal. The flag being raised, Chud- 
leigh Perry stepped forward, saying, "We salute our flag," and 
the large audience of 2,000 responded with cheers. Mr. Cratty 
closed his address as follows: 

Revere our flag, love it. If any little one should see any one 
disrespectful to our flag, place your little fist under his nose and 
say "stop." If you see the flag of any nation friendly to America 
respect it; but if you see the flag of anarchy, socialism or com- 
munism, stamp on it, tear it down and trample it in the dust. 

The formal programme was given in a creditable manner, 
bringing these pupils forward in leading parts: Kittle McNeil, 
Josephine Rice, Charles Perry. 

THOMAS HOYNE SCHOOL. 
The celebration at this school was opened by a reading of the 
Governor's proclamation by Miss Nellie Baines. After this the 
school flag was run up, amidst hearty cheers from the large audi- 
ence. Principal Leech then addressed the pupils, dwelling on 
the importance of the occasion and the events it commemorated. 
He urged the pupils and their friends to ever uphold our flag and 
our institutions and to foster American ideas, chief among which 
he placed the public schools. The rooms in which the exercises 
were held were suitably decorated. Gen. Joseph B. Leake, Mr. 
Lawrence M. Ennis and Mr. William G. Beal delivered the 
addresses. 

BROWN SCHOOL. 

The Brown School presented a gay appearance on Centennial 
Day. There were flags in every window, a banner floated from 
the pole in the yard, while the desks and rooms were decorated 
with flags and bunting. On the blackboard were crayon drawings 



133 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

of the heroes of the RevoUition. The pupils all wore some 
patriotic emblem. The little girls wore Columbia hats, red, 
white and blue ribbons and turbans. The boys were as patri- 
otic in their dress as the girls. Some wore cocked hats, others 
the continental garb, while others displayed the tricolor. A good 
many of the girls were dressed as Martha Washington, with 
powdered hair, flowing sleeves and buckled slippers. 

A large number of visitors attended the exercises. The 
room in which the programme was carried out was decorated 
with hundreds of small flags which festooned the wall. Large 
bouquets of tulips and Easter lilies on the piano served to 
heighten the effect. There were patriotic scenes and tableaux. 
The first tableau represented the inauguration of Washington. 
Mamie Mithe represented Martha Washington, while Willie 
Greenleaf represented the immortal Father of his Country. 
Then came the cherry tree incident, with Walter Greenleaf as 
the father and little Frank Ellis as the truthful wood-chopper. 
Washington on the Delaware and at the Battle of Trenton were 
the other subjects. The first address was given by Congressman 
William E. Mason. His address was directed to the children and 
was much enjoyed by them. He loved to study the history of 
his country and the scenes, incidents and lives of the founders of 
the nation. Here is where he drew his inspiration and intensi- 
fied his love for free America. It was that which had united 
federal and confederate and had made them forget their enmities. 
The country, while scarcely a hundred years old, was grand 
beyond belief. Its church spires are against the sky, its free 
schools on every hand, its people most fully blessed with pros- 
perity and peace. 

Patriotic addresses were also given by Mr. M. J. Dunne, the 
Rev. Dr. W. M. Lawrence, Mr. Mallory and Mr. R. E. Jenkins. 
Following is an abstract of Mr. Dunne's remarks: 

I suppose you scholars are not at all pleased in being disturbed 
at your studies to-day and having a holiday. But the event you 
are commemorating not coming again in a hundred years, it is best 
that you celebrate it now, for you will then be too old to enjoy it. 
I therefore counsel you to enjoy it as best you can. You take 
great pleasure in celebrating the Fourth of July, with flags, pro- 
cessions and burnt fingers, and as this day only comes once in a 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 133 

hundred years, you should rejoice one hundred times as much as 
on the Fourth. When this government was formed only a small 
part of this land was inhabited by the white race. A small strip of 
land along the Atlantic was occupied, while the rest was given over 
to the vast unbroken wilderness, wild beasts and savage tribes. 
Since then the land from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from North to 
South, has been brought into one grand government. I counsel 
you to keep in mind the glorious occasion which this day com- 
memorates. Remember with pride the early days of this republic, 
and the gallant, wise and noble conduct of the fathers of our 
country. Cultivate in your own hearts, in your own children, a 
love for your country, a love for liberty. If you do this as you 
ought, then this country will grow in greatness and power and 
strength, until, one hundred years hence, when our posterity cele- 
brate the beginning of our second century, the prophecy made by 
John Bright in England in 1862 will more than have been realized. 
He said: "A broader vision comes before my gaze. It may be 
but a vision, yet I will cherish it. I see one vast confederation 
stretching from the North in one unbroken line to the South, from 
the wild billows of the Atlantic westward to the calmer waters of 
the Pacific main; and I see one people, one language, one law and 
one faith, and over all this wide domain, freedom for the oppressed 
of every land and of every clime!" 

The following is a brief extract from the remarks of Dr. 
Lawrence: 

It gives me pleasure to accept your invitation to-day and to 
speak from my heart to you. Not that it is necessary for me to 
say anything, because you have had the pleasure of hearing two 
very carefully prepared addresses which I myself did not hear. I 
hope this day will lead you to cherish your country. There is 
some disposition to encourage everything foreign in America 
to-day. I have no objection to our country's improving itself and 
importing into our own American life that which we find of service 
in the lives of other nations, but when it comes to throwing what 
we have away and replacing it with what is no good in the 
lives of others, I feel a species of indignation that we have a ten- 
dency to be such servile imitators. I feel what it is to be an 
American. As the days go by and you go out into life, may the 
memory of this celebration remain not merely as a great incident 
in your school life, but as something to inspire and cultivate loyalty 
in your hearts. 

The following pupils took leading parts: Minnie Hickey, 
Miss Shepherd, Willie Hold. 



134 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

DOUGLAS SCHOOL. 

At this school the Board of Education arranged to have the 
formal dedication of the building in connection with the regular 
exercises of the day. Over 1,500 people were in attendance. The 
speakers were Mayor Cregier, Mr. Stephen A. Douglas, Mr. 
George Rowland, the Hon. J. R. Doolittle, Jr., and Mr. Henry V. 
Freeman. Mr. Rowland's address, which was admirably brief 
and to the point, is as follows: 

My young friends of the present generation, I, as a representa- 
tive of the generation of the past, am glad to welcome you into the 
beautiful new building on this great day in the nation's history. 
This day begins the second century of the greatest constitutional 
republic the world ever saw; a nation in which all avenues to suc- 
cess are ever open to intelligence, industry, and unswerving integ- 
rity, and whose highest pride and greatest faith is in her public 
schools. The present century is demanding more schools. Our 
course of study should be broader, richer, deeper. Alongside of 
our high schools and parallel with them we are having industrial 
and trade schools, schools of the mechanic arts, schools of science, 
and schools of art. I am only sorry that an important previous 
engagement will prevent my being at this school at the next cele- 
bration, one hundred years from now, when our great-grandchil- 
dren of the Douglas School, then ennobled by a long line of gradu- 
ates as statesmen, or in the arts, and professions — as men, women, 
fathers and mothers — will celebrate with higher power and holier 
splendor. 

The Mayor told the little ones that soon they would be called 
upon as voters to maintain the successes of the past. " Not one 
of you here but may be called to some high office. Now is the 
time to prepare yourselves for the future. Where else in the 
world can you get such a privilege of becoming educated if not 
in our free public schools? I hope you will improve your oppor- 
tunity and always keep the government free and united, as I 
believe this is the greatest nation on the face of the earth." 

These pupils took individual part: Warren Everett, Laura 
Gleason, Louis Head, D. Turner, Kate Hinkley. The programme 
included music, recitations, and declamations. A calisthenic drill 
by forty-eight boys, waving the Red, White and Blue, was a 
feature of the occasion. 

Mr. Henry V. Freeman, in his very able address, gave an 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 135 

excellent review of the events which preceded the inauguration 
of George Washington as the first President, the deplorable con- 
dition of the country under the articles of confederation, and the 
unspeakable blessings which "a more perfect union" conferred 
upon the country. He portrayed the peerless character of Wash- 
ington in eloquent terms, and closed with the following beautiful 
peroration: 

To-day a hundred years have gone since first the nation's life 
began. The infant of that day stands a strong man, acknowledging 
no superior among the nations of the earth. The century has been 
filled with momentous events. Revolutions have shaken the 
thrones of Europe. Empires have risen and fallen across the sea. 
But the union of these States has grown always stronger and more 
vigorous. The noise of battles and the tramp of armies have come 
to us not only from afar. We have had our own experiences of 
war, at home and abroad. The Constitution of a hundred years 
has been assailed from without and from within. But, like the 
mountain oak, it has gained strength and vigor from the tempest, 
and stands to-day a proud monument to its founders, the rock of 
national unity and strength. Under it we and our fathers have for 
a century past enjoyed the blessings of liberty controlled and reg- 
ulated by law. Under it, let us hope, the same blessings may still 
be enjoyed by generations yet unborn, who will stand upon the 
now silent shores of the far-ofi coming time. 

Upon you who are boys and girls to-day the fate of these com- 
ing generations will largely depend. You may not be called on to 
engage in the conflicts of arms, as your fathers have been. But 
you will have to fight battles no less serious. Each generation 
must fight its own battles, and every generation finds new battles 
to fight. It is still as true as it ever was that 

"We are living, we are dwelling 

In a grand and awful time — 
In an age on ages telling. 

To be living is sublime." 
This, my young friends, is our country. That flag is our flag. 
Think what it has cost to defend it. That flag has been bathed in 
the blood of heroes. It is the emblem of our liberty, the symbol of 
national unity and power. It represents home and friends and 
freedom and country. Many a man among us has seen it floating 
above the smoke of battle. 

" Many an eye hath glanced to see 
That banner in the sky." 



136 CHICAGO'S CE.VTENNTAL CELEBRATION 

Land of libertj^ "May peace be within thy walls, and prosperity 
within thy palaces! May there be no decay, no leading into cap- 
tivity, and no complaining in thy streets. May truth spring out of 
the earth and righteousness look down from heaven." 

DORE SCHOOL. 
At this school an interesting address was made to the pupils 
by the Hon. E. B. Sherman. The programme included the 
singing of " Old Uncle Sam." The song had a special significance 
for this occasiom. It was written by Col. Putnam, the son of the 
nephew of the Revolutionary Putnam, who settled in Marietta, 
Ohio, and who took an active part in the War of i8i2. The pro. 
gramme included singing, declamations, quotations and essays. 

HOLDEN SCHOOL. 
The celebrations were held in each room of this school edifice. 
There was no general programme on account of the lack of 
suitable accommodations. Addresses were made by Judge 
Baker, Col. D. W. Munn and J. P. Ahrens. The programmes 
were of great interest and were well rendered. 

HARRISON SCHOOL. 
To the music of flute and piano, the pupils of this school 
marched to the large hall. The exercises were opened with sing- 
ing Keller's American hymn, by a chorus of 250 voices, and after 
this the programme prepared for the occasion was followed out 
with fidelity and intelligence. A good feature of the programme 
was the appearance of the forty-two states, represented by forty- 
two little girls with crowns and badges. Another feature was the 
wand exercise, given by girls, the wands being trimmed with red, 
white and blue. The speakers were the Rev. Dr. Utter, ex-Mayor 
Carter H. Harrison and John Foster. Mr. Harrison was received 
with great applause. He told in an eloquent address of the 
duties of citizenship. In the course of his remarks Dr. Utter said: 

It is a strange mingling of seed with which, two hundred years 
ago, this land was planted. There were Pilgrims and Puritans, 
Separatists, Brownists, Quakers and Scandinavians, beside other 
heretics and heresies with which the age was rife. There were the 
Dutch at New Amsterdam and on Manhattan Island. The French 



OF WASHINGTON'S TNAUGURATION. 137 

were out West in the wilderness, and ever since the people have 
been coming from many foreign lands. We do not need any more 
people now from foreign lands. Let us mould into one union now, 
if we can, what we have already got. In union there is strength. 
This day one hundred years ago they gave us a constitutional gov- 
ernment and selected that grand man, Washington, as our first 
President. Before the Constitution was written it was in our 
hearts. The nation has written it there to-day. That Constitution 
written in our hearts makes us a nation. It fuses this widely differ- 
ing people into one grand nation. Love, reverence and never be 
untrue to your flag. With all its grandness it means our good, 
freedom and its blessings. 

The pupils who took a prominent part were: A. Guerner, 
G. Quinlan, W. Johnstone, G. Cohn, E. Saunders, George 
Schroeder. 

BRAIXARD .SCHOOL. 

This building and its various rooms were very tastefully deco- 
rated for the Centennial occasion. Every one connected with the 
school entered enthusiastically into the work of preparation for 
the proper observation of the anniversary of Washington's inau- 
guration. The address of the day was by Samuel Parker, who 
spoke on "A Goodly Heritage." He said: 

There may be advantages, benefits, enjoyments to be derived 
from belonging to other nations, but there is no nation that 
can compare with this one; and the statement thus broadly 
made by thousands of orators and speakers to-day will stand 
unchallenged. In this highest of free government you feel nothing 
of those selfish conditions that influence others not so highly 
favored. It is for the purpose of still more stimulating to a loftier 
appreciation of the one who more than any one else framed this 
government, that we have set aside this day as one of celebration 
and rejoicing. It seems that the fathers builded wiser than they 
knew, and indeed through that wisdom which always comes soonest 
to those who earnestly ask it, they have brought to you and will 
soon pass to your hands for safe keeping the grandest and best 
government ever devised for serving the best interests of all. If 
out of the wrecks of former efforts from which to form and found 
a great republic, and to perfect it through years of effort, our 
fathers have brought this government to us one hundred years old, 
we with our advanced surroundings should cherish and protect it, 
and always strive to pass it on to others improved, if indeed it can 
be, and so on and on and on to the outermost verge of time. 



138 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

LANGLAND SCHOOL. 

The rooms of this school were prettily decorated with bunt- 
ing and flags. In the lowest rooms and primary grades the exer- 
cises included music, singing, recitations and selections in 
harmony with the day. In the highest rooms the formal pro- 
gramme was given with great fidelity. Those who took part 
were: J. Patterson, O. Bendixon, Florence Sylvester, C. Del- 
posse, G. Walker, Ella Klatscher, Nellie Stephenson, Howard 
Richards, Eddy Irwin, H. Pieser, A. Moore, M. Rosenthal, M. 
Schulze. The address of the day was delivered by Dr. J. Rosen- 
thal, who spoke in substance as follows: 

It has been truly said that the American Declaration of Inde- 
pendence was the beginning of a new age, and changed the condi- 
tion from redress of grievances to a self-governing commonwealth, 
which thirteen years later developed into the government of the 
United States, the centenary of whose existence we are now cele- 
brating. In reviewing the history of the time we find that there 
was no one man so absolutely necessary to the government of the 
time as was Washington, whose noble wisdom, frankness and 
character alone were able to sustain him with any prospect of suc- 
cess in the strange duties and responsibilities of the new and 
untried office of President. The century of suspense has passed 
into a pleasant retrospection. From thirteen states we have 
advanced to three times that number. We have grown from the 
infant cradled in mother Columbia's arms to a free nation. It is a 
noble lesson, and should be conned by all. If you need further 
inspiration, think what has been done in free America. Remem- 
ber that you have an equal right to rule with any other man in the 
commonwealth. Think of all these privileges. I think often of 
them and then thank the Creator that I am in free America. 

CARPENTER SCHOOL. 
The exercises at this school were of unusual interest. Flags, 
bunting and evergreens beautified every part of the different 
rooms. The programme included the rendering of excellent 
music, selections and recitations. The following pupils took 
part: L. Thoen, L. Ross, D. Quinlan, T. Baker, L. Colburg, L. 
Brinkworth, Kate Cashiere, Clara Larscn. The address of the 
day was delivered by the Hon. T. C. McMillan. He sought to 
show how much the world owes to its poor men. Washington 



OF IV A SUING TON'S INA UG URA TION. 139 

was born in a log cabin in the wilderness, and the campaign of 
1840 revived this log cabin of the father of his country. Lincoln 
lived in a humble log cabin, and in that humble home out on the 
prairie had read the few books in his possession by the fitful glare 
of the log fire. Mr. McMillan alluded to the fact that the nation 
is greatly indebted to its great men. He also spoke of the inter- 
est the celebration of to-day would have for the children when it 
became the celebration of yesterday. 

HAVEN SCHOOL. 
The exercises at the Haven School were of a most interesting 
character. Separate programmes were prepared for each room. 
Those in the higher grades were very praiseworthy, and were 
executed with intelligence and spirit. 

HUMBOLDT PARK SCHOOL. 

The exercises at this school were very entertaining. The 
regular programme of songs, dialogues, patriotic quotations and 
essays was followed. The addresses were made by Col. A. C. 
Higgins and Mr. Edward R. Sweet. Col. Higgins said, in con- 
cluding his address: 

It was Washington's hand that placed the five-pointed star in 
the flag of our country. As Hamilcar led Hannibal to the altar 
and made him place his hand on the sacrifice and swear by the 
gods of Carthage that he would forever be at enmity with her ene- 
mies, so let us place our hands on our national flag, on this the 
hundredth anniversary of her birth, and swear perpetual enmity to 
national disunion. We may then rest assured that this land of 
Washington will become the greatest among the nations of the 
earth, and we may thus offer our salvation and our freedom to the 
oppressed of every nation under the sun. Columbia's free institu- 
tions will offer an example to the world, so that the people every- 
where shall rise up and deliver themselves from the hands of their 
oppressors. The throned despot will tremble beneath Columbia's 
law, the scepter unsheathed shall fall from the tyrant's palsied hand, 
and men everywhere shall stand erect and right-minded and 
regenerated before the American Union and the Constitution of 
the United States. 

HAYES SCHOOL. 

The Hayes School was gay with flags on the morning of the 
celebration. A large flag waved over the main entrance, while 



140 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

forty-eight smaller flags floated from the windows. Within, the 
various rooms were appropriately decorated with flags and bunt- 
ing, and the blackboards filled with drawings and quotations. 
The Godfrey Weitzel Post, G. A. R., with its colors, helped to 
do honor to the celebration. In the ninth division the dates 
1779-89, formed in small flags, drawn by the pupils in colored 
crayon, each child drawing a flag, were placed on the blackboard. 
The exercises were held in every division except the third. In 
this the pupils combined with the others. In the first division 
the Godfrey Weitzel Post occupied seats of honor on the stage 
and sang G. A. R. songs before the exercises began. 

Addresses were made by the Rev. J. Vilas Blake and Dr. 
Lyman. There were several interesting features of the pro- 
gramme, one consisting of patriotic quotations and exercises in 
calisthenics entitled "Our Flag." The music was good, the reci- 
tations were excellent and so were the essays. 

In the second, third and fourth divisions the pupils met in 
Room 3, where they followed the same programme as in the first 
division. Commander Wray of the Godfrey Weitzel Post made 
an extemporaneous address. In the eighth division a little girl, 
Lizzie Jensen, not quite thirteen years old, recited a poem "One 
Hundred Years Ago," composed in three and four line stanzas 
by herself. Another little girl, Hetty Thatcher, recited two 
poems composed by her grandmother, Mrs. A. L. Thatcher. In 
the thirteenth division quotations from Halleck's poems were 
read by ten little girls, each one bearing a letter of Washington's 
name and reciting an appropriate verse. In the sixteenth divis- 
ion one little girl asked questions concerning Washington and 
the other pupils answered them. Those who took leading parts 
were Carrie Walters and John McCune. 

LA SALLE SCHOOL. 

The celebration at this school was highly interesting. Some 
of the rooms were very liberally decorated, particularly the 
eighth grade, where were displayed many of the European and 
colonial flags. There was also much bunting and many pictures 
presented by the different classes. In one of the latter rooms 
the children were costumed in colonial style, with wigs, silk 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 141 

breeches and lace. The regular form of programme was fol- 
lowed in each room. The exercises closed with a tableau and 
the national air. The addresses of the day were delivered by the 
Rev. F. M. Bristol and Mr. William J. English. In the course of 
his remarks Mr. Bristol said: 

Washington, the ideal patriot, the ideal American, we are 
assembled to-day to honor his memory and praise his work and 
worth. He was inspired by a high purpose which makes character 
and moral excellence, and he was actuated by the teachings of a 
divine religion. As we look back upon the origin of this people, 
this nation, let us commemorate the Divine Providence which pre- 
pared this country for the grandest civilization. Wlien Columbus 
leaped from his ship of discovery and first touched the virgin soil 
of this new world, he fell upon his knees in a prayer of gratitude 
to that God whose providence had guided him over trackless seas 
to this new land. When the Pilgrims sprang from the Mayflower 
to the bleak New England shore, they fell upon their knees in 
prayer that God had led them over storm-tossed waves to a country 
where they might worship Him in accordance with the dictates of 
their own conscience. If to-day we would crown anew the name 
and brow of Washington with gems of tribute, let us place in that 
crown the sublime words of Lafayette, "Washington is the grand- 
est man;" take the grand e.xclamation of Fo.x, "Illustrious man, 
deriving honor less from the splendor of the station than the dig- 
nity of his name;" then take the eloquent encomium of Webster, 
"I would cheerfully put the question to the intelligence of Europe 
and all the world, what character of the century on the whole put 
in the pages of history, is the most sure, the most respected, the 
most sublime; and I have no doubt but that by a suffrage 
approaching unanimity the answer would be — Washington." Then 
place among the gems of eulogy the stirring words of John Bright 
in the English Parliament: "Washington stands alone and unap- 
proachable like a snowy peak rising above its fellows in the clear 
air of morning, with a dignity, constancy and purity which has 
made his name the ideal type of civic virtue to succeeding genera- 
tions. Each one turns to Washington, and if the people were 
called upon to contribute to his glorious renown, from millions of 
grateful hearts would be poured tributes of devotion and praise to 
gem his resplendent crown of fame." 

Mr. English delivered a very interesting address, a tribute to 
the Declaration of Independence. He said: 

The Constitution has shown to other nations that they are 



143 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

deprived of many of their God-given rights. In England the 
Declaration introduced free discussion, thereby rendering the gov- 
ernment more liberal. France stands greatly indebted to our 
country. When the Declaration of Independence was first made 
the lower classes in that country were just beginning to feel their 
power, and were trying to make French rulers respect them, and 
our Constitution induced them to strike. At this time a solemn 
duty rests with every citizen to support the laws and obey the 
Constitution in order to strengthen the government. This sacred 
duty has long been slighted and treated with contempt. Would 
you see despotism overwhelm us? Would you desire anarchy to 
extinguish liberty? Then trample on the Constitution, resist the 
laws, instill in the young mind a wholesome contempt for their 
obligations. But we hope that such will never be; that men now 
in possession of influence will use it rightly; that they will not 
swerve from duty and give up substantial benefits for some wild 
chimera. 

KING SCHOOL. 

At the King School the Hon. W. H. King delivered an 
address to the pupils, of which the follov/ing is an abstract: 

One hundred years ago to-day George Washington was inau- 
gurated the first President of the United States in New York. The 
country at the time contained probably four millions of people. It 
now contains perhaps sixty millions. Then there were no railroads 
or telegraphs on the American continent. Now of the 290,000 
miles of railroad in the world, the United States contains 135,000, 
nearly one-half the railroads in existence. Of the 600,000 miles of 
telegraph wire, more than one-fourth is in the United States. Our 
progress has been unprecedented in the history of the world. 
No where are educational facilities equal to ours. In this free 
country of ours industry and economy will secure a competence 
for all if they practice these virtues. And there is no good reason 
why people should not be contented and happy. Twice since the 
day, the centennial of which we now celebrate, have we been 
engaged in foreign v/ars, once with Great Britain and once with 
Mexico. In 1861 an unholy rebellion was inaugurated for the pur- 
pose of destroying this Union. Many armies were raised and the 
clash of arms resounded on many a bloody battle-field. It was 
claimed that this was not a union, but a kind of conglomeration of 
states and that each might withdraw at its pleasure. It required 
four years work to subdue that rebellion. The rebels were taught 
an instructive lesson. This Union is the enemy of anarchy in any 
of its forms. If there is any one here who does not like the laws 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 143 

and customs of our country they are at liberty to leave on the next 
train out. Such as these we do not want. The soil seems to be 
indigenous for producing men eminent in the professions and all 
business callings of life, and our women are the most intelligent 
and beautiful on the face of the earth. Of Washington, the first 
President, it is not necessary to say that he was the Father of his 
Country. Let us ever reverence his name. Stand by the old flag, 
boys; stand by the old flag, girls! It is our flag handed down to 
us unimpaired by our ancestors. We must transmit it to posterity 
in the same unimpaired condition. 

IRVING SCHOOL. 
At the Irving School the address of the day was delivered by 
the Rev. Charles Conklin. After touching lightly on the political 
history of the early republic, he said: 

Grave indeed must have been the thoughts of that grand, 
good man, as on that calm bright morning one hundred years ago 
to-day he placed his hand on the sacred book and took the oath 
of office. What was this man? What the occasion of so great a 
trust? Noble in bearing he must have been. Lafayette declared, 
on seeing him in the procession that day, that he was the grandest 
man he had ever seen. Washington was well fitted intellectually 
for the position he so greatly honored. He graduated not from 
college or academy, but from the field school, a small log cabin on 
his father's estate. He was largely a self-cultured man, yet his 
knowledge was great and was acquired with patience. He was a 
man of the finest nature and purest life. This is why he was equal 
to a trying war. The day suggests its duty. The nation is our 
heritage. We hold in trust this noble estate. We must enrich it 
as it passes through our hands down to posterity. Teach the chil- 
dren to love Washington and to be true to their flag and their 
country. Should dangers encompass our Union, should foes 
within or foes without strive to make null and void the great 
principles of Washington, our Constitution and our ancestors, let 
the memory of his spirit and devotion rise in your hearts and make 
you stand in defense of your hearthstones and ancestors. 

CALUMET AVENUE SCHOOL. 

Mr. Charles Kozminski was the orator at the Calumet School. 
The programme was an interesting one, music contributing to 
the general interest. He spoke in substance as follows: 

Where we now stand one hundred years ago the wild Indian 



144 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

was hovering for prey and the white man's scalp, while in the City 
of New York one of the greatest events in the history of the world 
was taking place. Our forefathers have fought bloody battles and 
brought great sacrifices for freedom and liberty, the fruits of 
which we to-day enjoy. This is the great heritage left to us by 
men who above all else loved their country, at the head of whom 
stands the great George Washington. On tliis day one hundred 
years ago he stood and took the oath of office to support the Con- 
stitution of the United States of America; and as to-day, then also 
the great flag was hoisted, but with only thirteen stars where now 
we find forty-two in this grand emblem of liberty and freedom, the 
emblem of the greatest country on the face of the earth, where every- 
one is sovereign. The framers of this Constitution, which to-day 
fills the hearts of all true American children with joy and happi- 
ness, acted in accordance with and were inspired by the will of 
God, who knows no difference between his children, be they born 
in the hovel or born in the palace of the rich. How insignificant, 
therefore, must they appear to us, who, while proud as American 
citizens, draw a line between the poor and the rich, who inspire a 
prejudice against their fellow beings, because they are either not 
blessed with riches like themselves, or they have been free to wor- 
ship differently, or destiny has colored their skin darker than 
others. People with such feelings deserve our pity. They are not 
true Americans in the sense of our great ancestors and in the 
great inheritance left to them, and which they now in selfishness 
and self-esteem enjoy. They neither love their neighbors as them- 
selves nor understand the solemn obligation taken by George 
Washington for them. And for such our great Abraham Lincoln 
and U. S. Grant and many thousands of our best citizens spilled 
their life's blood; and if ever a dark cloud has rested on this coun- 
try, the Emancipation Proclamation of Abraham Lincoln has wiped 
it out. And as one people who love our country without distin- 
guishing race, color or religion, we are here to-day, united as 
Americans to love the day for our country and for its Constitution, 

ARMOUR STREET SCHOOL. 

At the Armour Street School the address of the day was 
delivered by Mr. Geo. L. Stone, who spoke in substance as 
follows : 

What a glorious morning is this, the looth anniversary of our first 
President's inauguration! We have met with joyous expressions of 
gratitude upon our lips and in our hearts that Almighty God has 
vouchsafed to the sturdy colonists His signal favor, and gave to this 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION 145 

countr}' that incomparable chief, "First in war, first in peace and first 
in the hearts of his countrymen." We have met also to revive our 
solemn obligations. We have also met to pledge ourselves that 
we will transmit this priceless heritage, in all its original splendor, 
to generations yet unborn. The most prominent part of a nation's 
history is its military record. When all other mementoes of 
remote time have passed into oblivion, when authors, statesmen 
and jurists, merely as such, lie forgotten, the memory of battles 
lost and won, of valor on sea and land, of great captains and 
heroic soldiers, will retain its fragrance — ay, shall gather bright- 
ness as it rolls down the stream of time, scattering sparks of 
inspiration among the generations as they come and go. Like the 
lights in the Jewish sanctuary, this sacred fire is not permitted to 
grow dim, and from the remotest past it burns a holy flame to 
guide the student traveler from age to age — a light to warm the 
patriot and warn the traitor. It was kindled anew upon these 
shores, and lit up the continent from the hills and plains of already 
historic states. Nor let us forget those by whose prowess the 
inestimable gifts of civil and religious liberty vouchsafed to our 
fathers, and transmitted through the fires of two wars to a splendid 
posterity, are bequeathed by a sublime struggle to this generation. 
I prefer to think of the heroes of '76 and '61 as not separated in 
spirit. The touch of the vanished hand I can almost feel. Their 
voices still seem to break in sweetness on my ear. Soldiers and 
sailors, heroes all, your deeds are enshrined in a nation's heart, 
and the memory of your sacrifices shall be cherished as long as 
ocean's billows roll, while flowers in beauty bloom and rock-ribbed 
hills endure, as jeweled and most precious possessions. 

OTHER PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 

The celebration at the Von Humboldt School was witnessed 
by over one thousand pupils and by an equal number of patrons 
and friends. Alma Burgh, of the graduating class, addressed the 
school in a feeling manner, after which Keller's American hymn 
was sung and three rousing cheers given for the national colors. 
In the different rooms different programmes were prepared for 
the entertainment of the audience. The speakers were Mr. Paul 
O. Stensland and Mr. Scharlau. 

A large audience listened to the exercises at the Sheldon 
School. The programme was opened by the unfurling of the 
national colors and the singing of "America." The exercises 
included singing, recitations, dialogues and music. 



146 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

The exercises at the Kosciusko School were begun with a flag- 
raising and followed by the singing of "America." The same pro- 
gramme was followed in all the rooms, and considerable enthusiasm 
on the part of the audience as well as the pupils characterized the 
day. Each room in which exercises were held was decorated 
with flags, pictures of Washington, evergreen, and red, white and 
blue bunting. There was singing, essays and interesting dia- 
logues from history. The programme was an ambitious one and 
was well rendered. 

The Polk Street School was liberally decorated with flags and 
banners, and over every window and door with streamers and 
bunting. Over every door was a picture of Gen. Washington, 
with cross-swords and flags. The blackboards were covered with 
patriotic drawings made by the pupils and teachers. Most of the 
pupils in this school are from foreign lands, a fact which gave 
additional significance to the Centennial Celebration. In the 
larger room were seventy-five Italian children from si.x to fifteen 
years of age. Most of these were unable to speak English. They 
were addressed in Italian by Sig. Rouga. The older children car- 
ried small flags. Thirteen little girls recited selections from the 
Declaration of Independence and twenty-one little boys from the 
Constitution of the United States, 

At the Russell School the children, their patrons and friends 
opened the day's exercises with singing " America." A unique 
feature was sixteen boys contrasting 1789 and 1889, led by the 
comedietta entitled "Old Maids," in which thirty little girls went 
in search of husbands, wanting none better than Washington. 
The address of the day was delivered by Mr. Higgins. 

At the Hoffman Avenue School Miss Kohler read Gov. Fifer's 
proclamation and Willie Monroe spoke a short piece on the 
Constitution. Nelly Nolan with "The first Inauguration," Alma 
McNeil with Whittier's ode, and Nellie Richter with " Examples 
of Washington," were good examples of school oratory. 

The Wicker Park School had similar and interesting exer- 
cises consisting mainly of music, the day being closed with a 
charming Martha Washington tea party. 

Bishop Fallows and Mr. C.C. Kohlsaat addressed the pupils at 
the Clark School. The rooms were all decorated with flags and 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 147 

bunting, but exercises were held in but four rooms of the gram- 
mar grade. 

At the Washington School the exercises were unusually inter- 
esting. The part taken by the school consisted mainly of songs, 
essays, recitations and dialogues. The flag drill was an interest- 
ing exercise, and was much enjoyed by all who witnessed it. The 
speakers were Mr. Frank Wyley, Mr. L. P. Meech, Mr. John E. 
Dalton and Mr. F. G. Colby. 

Bishop Samuel Fallows delivered an address to the older 
pupils at the Marquette School, dedicating the day to the children 
of America. The address proved highly interesting, and the only 
regret was thai on account of the limited size of the room many 
were prevented from hearing it. 

Patriotic addresses and recitations by the children and 
speeches by the Rev. H. W. Thomas, Mr. E. Nelson Blake and 
Mr. John MacLarcn comprised the programme at the Hendricks 
School. The celebration was in every particular an unqualified 
success. 

At the Lawndale School the day was observed appropriately. 
The exercises were opened by the singing of " America," after 
which Miss Brayton read the Governor's proclamation. The fol- 
lowing pupils took part in the programme, which included some 
very interesting features: Etta Lynn, Edith Gumbell, Pauline 
Roberts, Otto Schulz, Alice Hawkins, Edith Burnham, Charles 
Watson, Rester Anderson, Bryn Dodds, Bertha Billings, Maude 
Merrill. The recitations and essays were confined to the revolu- 
tionary subjects and eulogies of Washington. The Rev. Mr, 
Bell closed with an address on the day and the responsibilities 
thereof. 

MISCELLANEOUS CELEBRATIONS. 

The Cook County Normal School, the Illinois Industrial 
School for Girls, the Chicago Manual Training School, and other 
schools and institutions, united with the public schools in cele- 
brating this occasion. The programmes were a little more 
varied in character than those in the public schools, but the 
general trend of the exercises was the same. 

At the Cook County Normal School the programme included 
music and the recitation by Mrs. Parker of a poem delivered at 



148 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

the inauguration of Washington. Six girls, dressed in white, 
represented the welcome given to Washington by the young 
women of that generation. Washington's escort was composed 
of thirty-two boys in colonial uniform. Extracts from eulogies 
on Washington, some admirable music, a flag raising, and recita- 
tions showing the spirit of 1775, and the growth of the sentiment 
in favor of union, comprised the exercises. The address was 
delivered by Mr. C. S. Cutting. 

The Illinois Industrial School for Girls, at South Evanston, 
opened its programme with music, after which the following 
recitations by scholars were given: " Landing of the Pilgrims," 
".Sketch of Washington," "Independence Bell," and others. 
Two addresses were delivered, one by Mr. Albert Dunham, the 
other by Mr. N. L. Stowe. Mr. Dunham delivered a stirring 
address, picturing in eloquent language incidents connected with 
the inauguration of Washington, dwelling with hope upon the 
fact that the public schools are taking such a large part in the 
Centennial Anniversary. 

The Manual Training School of Chicago distinguished itself 
with a very simple yet effective programme. The pupils assem- 
bled in the lecture-room, where the exercises were held. The 
themes of the essays were assigned to the pupils a month before 
the celebration. The design was to get a connected idea in the 
words of the pupils of the important events which characterized 
the early history of our country. Those which were read, with 
the names of the pupils, were as follows: "Critical Period in 
American History, 1783-89," Warren H. Lewis; "Washington as 
President and as a Citizen," Carl Fairbanks; " Washington the 
General," G. T. Sigwell; "Washington's Journey to New York, 
1789," Louis Howell; "Washington's Inauguration," Frank S. 
Pagin; "Washington as a Statesman," C. H. Toby; "Washington 

and His Cabinet," Otto Scheible; "1789-1889," Belfield; 

"A Day in 1989," Robert Currer. The address delivered by the 
Hon. E. B. Sherman was marked by patriotism and eloquence. 

The pupils of the German Theological Seminary met at St. 
Mark's Evangelical Church, where the address of the day was 
delivered by the Rev. Dr. S. J. Severinghaus, who spoke on 
"One Hundred Years of National Life" and the value of the 
moral education of our )'outh. 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 149 

At the schools of the Cathedral of the Holy Name the cele- 
bration of the Centennial by the Catholic schools took place. 
Solemn high mass was celebrated at 9 a. m., which was attended 
by the guards of the parish in full uniform. At 10:30 the exer- 
cises began in the school hall. The programme included songs, 
essays, recitations and tableaux; also a piece entitled "Washing- 
ton's Marching Song," in which thirty children in the costumes of 
George and Martha Washington took part. Miss Reidy sang a 
song and Miss Tiefenbrun played a composition by Liszt for the 
piano. 

The St. Margaret's School exercises were held at the Church 
of the Epiphany. They were opened by a prayer by the pastor 
of the church, the Rev. Mr. Morrison. This was followed by the 
singing of "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean," in which the 
entire school took part. The thesis of Miss N. Williams won 
applause. Miss Rosa Greenbaum sang " The Star Spangled 
Banner," and Mrs. Ella F. Young addressed the students of the 
parochial schools. The exercises closed with the singing of 
"America," joined in by the entire audience. 

The exercises at the Academy of the Sacred Heart were 
opened with a piano number by Misses Walsh and Cavanaugh. 
The concert recitation that followed was rendered by Misses 
Becker, Lynch, Powell, Clara and Julia Ernst, White, Donovan, 
Gitman, Carney and Raitton. Then came a chorus sung by the 
school. Miss Amanda Massauer and Miss Telia Doniat read 
essays. Miss A. Walsh played an instrumental solo, after which 
there was the distribution of the ribbons and medals. The exer- 
cises closed with the singing of the mater admirabilis and the 
solemn opening of the month of May. 

At St. Columba's School the address of the day was delivered 
by the Rev. D. P. O'Brien. The programme included music, 
recitations, and two excellent essays by Miss M. Shelly and Miss 
M. Shea. 

The pupils of St. Aloysius School listened to a Centennial 
address by the Rev. J. Prince, S. J. The programme at this 
institution was an attractive one. It opened with an instrumental 
duet by Misses Nellie Lynch and Nellie McCarthy. The chorus 
"Columbia" followed, with Miss Jenny O' Heron as accompanist. 



150 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

There was also a recitation by Miss Nellie Powers, and an instru- 
mental duet by Miss Katie Ryan and Miss Jennie Doover. The 
recitation by Miss Nellie O'Neil closed the exercises. 

The programme at the Holy Angels' Academy offered many 
attractions. It was opened with a inarch militairc, piano duet by 
Misses M. Boyer and Ryan. This was followed by the Centen- 
nial hymn, sung by the entire school. Judge Thomas A. Moran 
next delivered an entertaining address. Master J. Farrell recited 
a "Tribute to Washington." Next, a medley was sung with Miss 
W. Joice as accompanist. Maj. Allen followed with an address, 
which in turn gave way to a duet, "The Golden Star," by Misses 
Hayes and M. Carey. Miss H. Hutchinson recited " Margaret of 
France." Mr. W. Hayes recited "The Dandy Fifth." Then 
came a duet by the Misses M. Joice and M. Riley. Next fol- 
lowed an essay entitled " Our Republic's Birthday," by Miss M. 
Farrell. The programme closed with the chorus " Columbia," 
sung by the Centennial Chorus. 

At the Chicago Home of the Friendless the day was appropri- 
ately observed. The school room was beautifully decorated 
with flags, the national colors, evergreen and pictures of Wash- 
ington. The school sang patriotic songs, after which came an 
entertaining piece entitled " Columbia's Tea Party." Fifty pupils 
and old people took part, each wearing a badge on which was the 
name of the state represented. Columbia invited all her children, 
the states and territories, to come home and celebrate with her 
her hundredth birthday. At the close of the exercises "Colum- 
bia" was sung by Dr. Belle Reynolds. 

The rooms of St. Xavier's Academy were prettily draped 
with flags, bunting and flowers. The new flag was unfurled from 
the entrance. The religious services were held in the chapel. 
High mass was celebrated by the Rev. J. McCann, and a solemn 
te deum was chanted by the pupils of the academy. The patri- 
otic exercises prepared for the occasion took place at 3 p. m. 
Archbishop Feehan and the Rev. S. McDonald addressed the 
pupils. The Archbishop talked to the children in a familiar way, 
explaining the beauties of our Constitution, and declaring that 
we should thank God for its preservation, as well as for the mate- 
rial prosperity of our country. Those who took part in the 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 151 

programme were: Miss Mary Marble, Miss Alice Shannon, Miss L. 
Hesslein, Esther Glenn, Maggie Murphy, Annie Hudson, Olive 
Lewis, Susie Bonfield, Edith Maslin, Delia O'Malley and Pearl 
Hunt. 

Three hundred little orphans in holiday attire filed into the 
chapel of St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum at 6:15 a. m. and listened 
to a solemn high mass celebrated by the Rev. J. McNamee. 
The reverend chaplain endeavored to impress on the minds of 
the pupils the significance of memorial day. The programme 
closed with the singing of patriotic songs, after which the little 
ones were feasted on candies and good things to eat. 

At the Chicago Free Kindergarten the children observed the 
day in an appropriate manner by singing patriotic songs and by 
marching with guns and flags. The little children seemed to 
enter heartily into the spirit of the occasion. 

The pupils of the Angel Guardian and Chicago Industrial 
School celebrated the day with a solemn high mass. The Rev. 
Father Pancratius delivered an appropriate address on the duties 
of the pupils to God and the country. Patriotic songs were sung 
and the Centennial pieces spoken. Afterward the children vis- 
ited the parochial school. 

The celebration at the Dearborn Academy was an attractive 
one. Patriotic songs were sung. Miss Halsey recited Webster's 
reply to Hayne. Patriotic quotations were related by twelve 
young ladies. Miss A. Reeme gave an essay, "A Cup of Tea at 
Mt. Vernon." May Coffeen recited "Stars of my Country's Flag," 
and an essay on the "Daughters of 1789" was recited by Miss 
Edith Moss. Mary Barrows recited the "American Flag," and 
Miss Fannie Wells "Woman's Duty to America." The address 
of the day was delivered by Mr. George W. Needham. 

The exercises at the Sacred Heart Convent were witnessed by 
800 girls, all attired in white, with gracefully draped red, white 
and blue scarfs. The school hall was tastefully arranged with 
the national colors, with a generous intermingling of flags. The 
programme was an interesting and varied one. It was opened by 
an instrumental duet by Misses T. Byrne and A. Rogers. Then 
came a recitation by forty-two girls. This recitation consisted of 
facts connected with the history of our country. The most 



152 CHICAGO'S CEXTEAWIAL CELEBRATION' 

striking passages from the speeches of our orators were given 
with spirit and made an excellent elocutionary drill. Bryant's 
lines "On Washington" were given in concert by the class. On 
the announcement of the surrender of Cornwallis, the school sang 
"Yankee Doodle." A recitation of the origin of the "Star Spangled 
Banner" was followed by the singing of the "Red, White and Blue" 
by the whole school. Then came patriotic songs and recitations. 
Miss Bryan played an instrumental piece, "The Star Spangled Ban- 
ner" and the Goddess of Liberty and her forty-two states appeared, 
bringing the programme to a close. The address of the day was 
delivered by the Rev. Father Otting, S. J. 

The celebration by St. Pius's girls was begun at 9 o'clock, the 
holy sacrifice of the mass being conducted by the Rev. Father 
Hackett. Next the Rev. Father Kelly of St. Cecelia's Church 
deUvered a patriotic sermon to an appreciative and large congre- 
gation, after which the children of the choir sang the hymn of 
thanksgiving. The mass concluded, the children, dressed in the 
national colors and all carrying flags, marched in procession to the 
gymnasium, where the exercises took place. Miss Ella McAuliffe 
delivered an address, which was received with great applause; 
the senior class sang several national airs and Miss MoUie Carroll 
read a paper on the life and character of Washington. The little 
St. Pius cadets attracted no little attention by their musical per- 
formances, which formed a most cheerful feature of the occasion. 
The medals were distributed by the Rev. Fathers Hackett, Don- 
nelly and O'Sullivan. 

The day was opened at St. Francis' School by the singing of 
" America." The addresses were delivered by the Rev. Mr. 
Cavalary and Mr. Peacher. The first class boys joined in an 
interesting exercise and sang " Marching Through Georgia," and 
the second class sang " Our Flag," the girls following with 
" George Washington " and " Liberty Bell." The other classes 
gave interesting exercises. 

At Messrs. Schobinger & Grant's Harvard School, 2101 Indi- 
ana avenue, the pupils met at il o'clock, together with their 
teachers, parents and invited friends. The hall was handsomely 



OF WASHINGTOIST'S INAUGURATION. 153 

decorated with flags and bunting, and well filled. The platform 
was occupied by an orchestra formed by pupils of the school. 
The exercises were opened with prayer. Then followed the 
singing of "America" by the pupils, supported by the orchestra. 
The Rev. Thomas C. Hall ne.xt addressed his youthful hearers in 
an appropriate speech well calculated to rouse their patriotic 
fervor. Then " Hail Columbia" was sung. Mr. M. Guerin and 
Mr. Julian Nolan, members of the school, next read their essays, 
the subject of the former being the successive steps that led to 
the formation of the Constitution of the United States, the latter 
an account of the inauguration of the first President of the 
republic. The medals were then distributed. The singing of 
"The Star Spangled Banner" and other patriotic songs closed 
the exercises. On separating, every one, young and old, carried 
along memories of an exceedingly successful and spirited cele- 
bration of "Our Nation's Birthday." 

At Fick & Schutt's German-English School, 621-623 Wells 
street, the exercises were highly interesting and impressive. 
The fine school building was gay with streamers; in the assembly 
hall the German colors were entwined with those of America, 
and the blackboards showed the names of the foremost Ameri- 
cans, together with choice patriotic quotations. A handsomely 
printed programme bore in bronze color a portrait of Washing- 
ton and a selection of extracts from the Constitution and from 
Washington's Farewell Address, as well as mottoes shown 
in the procession of New York a century ago. Mr. Henry H. 
Fick, in his opening remarks, spoke of the virtue of patriotism as 
inherent in the German character, and gave the names of men 
like Muhlenberg, Steuben and Kalb as evidence of the support 
which Germans lent to the establishment of the government in 
this country. If the German thinks fondly of the realm where 
his cradle stood, he turns with no less affection to the land which 
gave him a home, and for it he is ready to yield his life, if needs 
be. The order of exercises embraced songs, recitations and read- 
ings, both in Geiman and in English, the distribution of the Cen- 
tennial souvenirs and the presentation of a fine flag by the pupils 
of the school. 



164 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

Among the many excellent selections recited by the pupils, 
Hezckiah Buttcrworth's "The School House Stands by the Flag," 
received the warmest applause as the last stanza was rung out: 

The blue arch above us is Liberty's dome. 

The green fields beneath us Equality's home. 

But the school-room to-day is Humanity's friend — 

Let the people the flag and the school-house defend! 

'Tis the school-house that stands by the flag, 

Let the nation stand by the school; 

'Tis the school-bell that rings for our Liberty old, 

'Tis the school-boy whose ballot shall rule. 



IV 



THE MASS MEETINGS 



IV 

THE MASS MEETINGS 



The popular interest in the centennial celebration was particu- 
larly manifested in the mass meetings. The committee had con- 
templated a public gathering in one of the city's large halls, but 
long before any definite plan had been decided upon it became 
evident that one meeting would be entirely inadequate to the 
demands of the occasion. Two meetings were accordingly 
decided upon. But the public interest kept growing. The two 
meetings were abandoned in favor of three; the three became 
four; grew to five and six. Still the barometer of public senti- 
ment continued to reveal the increasing pressure of an atmosphere 
surcharged with patriotic zeal. It soon became evident that the 
committee could not make its arrangements on too large a scale. 
Finally, to relieve the pressure which must inevitably come 
upon a few meetings, no matter how large and commodious 
the halls in which they were held, it was decided to issue a 
call for eight mass meetings, one in each of the big auditoriums 
afforded by the E.xposition Building, Central Music Hall, the 
Cavalry Armory, Battery D Armory, Farwell Hall and the 
Board of Trade, and one in each of two mammoth tents to be 
erected on the Lake Front. As it afterward turned out, even 
these accommodations were not up to the requirements of the 
occasion. Of the great crowds gathered at each of the appointed 
meeting-places, thousands were turned away, unable to get even 
within sight of the entrance doors. 

In order to further divide public interest and to prevent 
undue crowding at any one of the conventions, information as to 
where the different speakers of the day would hold forth was 
kept secret. The names of all the orators were published, but 



158 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

no one in the great audiences assembled on the day of the cele- 
bration knew which of the speakers he was to hear. The wisdom 
of this manoeuvre was subsequently demonstrated by the impar- 
tial manner in which the public patronage was distributed among 
the different gatherings. 

At 3 o'clock — the hour set for the opening of the doors — each 
of the appointed meeting-places presented a scene of wild enthu- 
siasm. The enormous crowds which began to gather as early as 
I o'clock were under the contagious spell of the general excite- 
ment. Every slight incident which could be made the pretext 
was greeted with applause and cheers. When the doors were 
finally thrown open, the huge throngs surged in with the irresist- 
ible rush of so many tidal waves and took instant possession of 
all available space. Even then those who were forced to 
remain outside did not go away, but hung around the entrances, 
seemingly quite as ardent and cheerful as their luckier fellows 
within. Finding themselves barred from participation in any 
other way, the majority of them stood the proceedings through, 
reechoing every cheer and joining in every song. At Dearborn 
Park an "overflow meeting," formed largely of those unable to 
gain admission to the other gatherings, was organized. The 
crowds which clustered around the entrance to the Exposition 
Building were summoned by a bugle call to the park. Here 
ex-Mayor Carter H. Harrison, acting as chairman of the meeting, 
Prof. A. C. Geyer of Indiana, the Rev. Jenkin Lloyd Jones, and 
Mr. C. W. Martin of New York, delivered eloquent addresses to 
as appreciative an audience as assembled anywhere during the 
day. After listening to speeches for over two hours it was still 
unsatisfied, and in response to repeated demands Mr. Harrison 
arose and delivered a second speech, to the great apparent 
satisfaction of his auditors. 

At the Exposition Building, where a throng of over ten thou- 
sand people had assembled, the spectacle was truly magnificent. 
The immense interior was packed to its utmost capacity, and 
when a stir of applause grew out of those near the platform and 
swept swiftly over the big concourse with increasing strength, the 
very walls seemed to vibrate. At the Board of Trade every inch 
of standing room was occupied, and the graduated "pits" where 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 159 

bidding is carried on could only be located by the little turrets 
and cones of humanity which surmounted them. The effect was 
that of a fantastic architectural design worked out in human 
forms, with a rococo ornamentation of bunting and flags. The 
crowds which gathered at Central Music Hall and Farwell Hall 
were the largest ever assembled in those buildings, and at all the 
meetings every block of space into which a human figure could 
be squeezed was occupied. 

In all the different halls the decorations had been made a 
unique feature of the occasion. The national flag and the tri- 
colored buntings were displayed in profusion. The speakers' 
platforms were lavishly decorated. Flowers, plants, wreaths and 
festoons were used in abundance and in every manner which 
ingenuity could suggest. These floral thrones were surmounted 
by large portraits of Washington. Placards bearing the pro- 
foundly democratic motto, "Government of the People, for the 
People, by the People," were imbedded in masses of flowers and 
flags. The two tents on the Lake Front were ablaze with bunt- 
ing and rows of little flags were strung between the tent-poles. 

The programme of exercises was in the main the same for all 
the meetings. Care had been taken to provide the different con- 
ventions with good musical organizations, and the singing and 
playing of the national airs was a notable feature of the day's 
celebration. It was shortly after 3 o'clock when the meetings 
were called together by their respective secretaries, who at once 
introduced the chairmen appointed to preside. At Central 
Music Hall this office was filled by the Hon. Robert T. Lincoln, 
who was vigorously applauded from the moment of his entrance. 
Judge Walter Q. Gresham occupied the chair at Battery D, the 
Hon. Joseph Fifer, Governor of Illinois, presided at the Exposi- 
tion Building, Senator Farwell at Tent B, Mr. E. Nelson Blake at 
the Board of Trade, Justice John M. Harlan at the Cavalry 
Armory, Judge Richard S. Tuthill at Farwell Hall and Mayor 
Cregier at Tent A. The introductory addresses delivered by the 
chairmen were very brief. Judge Gresham made no address, 
merely prefacing the exercises with a neat sentiment: 

It is proper and natural that the national sentiment and love of 
country should find expression to-day. We never could have 



ICO CHICAGO'S CENTEXNIAL CELEBRATION 

become the great nation that we are under the Articles of Confed- 
eration. Our unexampled growth is due to the "more perfect 
union " which was formed by the adoption of the Constitution now 
one hundred years old, and our continued happiness, prosperity 
and safety depend upon the unselfish devotion of the people to the 
Union and its preservation at all hazards through all times. 

The applause evoked by the addresses of the chairmen was 
hushed as the chaplains of the different meetings were introduced 
and with bowed heads raised their voices in prayer for the con- 
tinued prosperity of the nation. The playing of national airs 
by the bands was in all the meetings the signal for a tumultuous 
outburst. The people arose, waved thousands of little flags, and 
united their voices in a grand and impressive chorus. When the 
enthusiasm had somewhat subsided, congratulatory messages 
exchanged between Chicago and the cities of Minneapolis, 
Pittsburgh and Springfield were then read. 

The simple greeting sent out by Chicago was as follows: 

Eight hundred thousand Chicago citizens send greeting to Min- 
neapolis, with the wish that, guided by the experience of a century 
of our national life, our second century may show a record still 
more glorious. 

Minneapolis sent the following reply : 

Minneapolis, on this memorable occasion, sends fraternal greet- 
ings to her sister city, Chicago. Together our people return 
thanks to the Almighty God for the blessings embraced in a cen- 
tury's growth of civil and religious liberty, and earnestly pray that 
the reign of Presidents begun this day one hundred years ago, may 
only end with time. When Washington was inaugurated first Presi- 
dent of the United States, the site of your city was an unknown 
morass. The spirit that plucked up half-drowned Chicago by the 
locks, filled her streets with the ceaseless tread of commerce, and 
poured the wealth of nations into her lap, had its twin virtue only in 
the patriotism of her people. Constitutional liberty has no braver 
defenders nor more watchful guardians than the sons of Illinois. 
When our grandchildren repeat this celebration may the same flag 
fioat above them, no star effaced; symbolizing then as now the 
broadest freedom and the greatest happiness to men; and may they 
be found still possessing and still transmitting the virtue of Wash- 
ington, Lincoln, and Grant. 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 161 

From Springfield the following response was received: 

The capital city of the empire state of the West sends greeting 
to the great metropolis of the Northwest on this Centennial natal 
day of constitutional government. The infant nation then born 
grew rapidly and strongly, but not healthily. It was inoculated 
with the virus of slavery. This poison well nigh produced death. 
Under the good providence of God there was found in our little 
city a man whose wisdom met the peril. It is well, then, that 
Springfield, that Chicago, that Illinois should rejoice on this Cen- 
tennial anniversary of the founding of a government by Washing- 
ton, the father of his country, which was preserved in the hour of 
peril by our Abraham, the savior of his country. 

The greeting sent by Pittsburgh was as follows: 

Pittsburgh sends greeting to Chicago as a token of the high 
esteem, deep friendship, and broad admiration this gateway of the 
West holds for the Queen City of the Lakes. 

The citizens of Pennsylvania, where Washington, the young 
militia colonel, performed his first public service, assembled in 
mass meeting to do honor to his memory on the Centennial anni- 
versary of his first inauguration, say to the citizens of the West: 
" Follow in the footsteps of the fathers, and hold fast to what 
Washington gave you." 

The following messages from prominent men throughout the 
nation were also read : 

FROiM LEVI p. MORTON, VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

There is a peculiar appropriateness in the observance of this 
Centenary of the birth of this great nation by the residents of 
Chicago. The minds of the throng that surrounded Washington 
on April 30, one hundred years ago, were fixed upon the possible 
future of the nation. They foresaw, not as dreamers, but as prac- 
tical men, that population and wealth, highroads and canals, and 
cities would be multiplied on this new and fertile continent, under 
a free government, and while it is true that their visions of material 
progress fell far short of the reality which we have lived to see, 
and of which Chicago is one of the more remarkable illustrations, 
yet in the dim future they saw the Chicagos that were to be. 

It is, therefore, but befitting that Chicago should now be think- 
ing of them and celebrating the memorable event which marks the 
beginning of the history of the United States under the Constitution. 



163 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

FROM SIR JOHN MACDONALD, PREMIER OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 

I greatly regret that the sitting of the Canadian Parliament 
prevents me from accepting the invitation. Had it been possible it 
would have given me great pleasure to assist on this most interest- 
ing occasion. 

FROM THE REV. DR. R. P. STORRS, DAV's CHAPLAIN IN NEW YORK. 

I rejoice that this day is to be worthily commemorated in the 
city whose swift and splendid growth is itself a magnificent tribute 
to the protecting power and inspiring impulse of a government 
whose establishment was completed one hundred years ago. 

FROM JOHN BOYLE O'REILLY, BOSTON, MASS. 

Your kind invitation to attend the Chicago Centennial celebra- 
tion is most gratifying, and I deeply regret that other engagements 
prevent my acceptance. But it does not matter much on that day 
where the American stands, or under what conditions he may be 
placed, he is part of your celebration as you are part of his. Our 
liberty, our law, our order, our members and power and prosperity, 
our growing homogeneity as a nation, our regard for the rights of 
each other, all these are the elements of the Centennial of Wash- 
ington's inauguration. The lights from city to city across the con- 
tinent on that day are only one light — from the hearts of the whole 
American people, love and respect and veneration for the name of 
the great man who was the first President. 

FROM CARL SCHURZ, NEW YORK. 

We cannot worthily commemorate the practical beginning of 
our constitutional government without doing homage to the man 
who was the first and highest illustration of its character. Popular 
hero worship is to be commended and encouraged when it consists 
in the admiring contemplation of conspicuous virtue and wisdom. 
The memory of George Washington is, and will always remain, 
one of the most important and precious possessions of the Ameri- 
can people. 

Ilis services in the War of Independence were inestimable. But 
as the head of the civil government he conferred a benefit upon his 
people which stands unsurpassed, if not unoqualcd, in the annals of 
mankind. It consists in the fact that the fust President of the 
United States was the model President. Whenever the American 
people wish to consider what the Chief Magistrate and the govern- 
ment of this country should be, and when a President wishes to 
make it clear to his own mind by what rules of political morality 
he should regulate his conduct, by what motives he should be 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 168 

guided, and upon what principles he should act, he can find a 
model perfect and complete in the teachings and example of the 
first President. The more clearly those teachings and that example 
are understood, the more faithfully tliey are followed, the purer, 
the stronger, the more glorious will this republic become. 

FROM EDWARD EVERETT HALE, ROXBURY, MASS. 

If anybody in the world should celebrate the presidency of 
Washington, it is the people of Chicago. 

It is very interesting now to see that, more than any man in 
America, George Washington understood the infinite wealth of the 
valleys of the Mississippi and of the lakes. His schemes for unit- 
ing those valleys were worthy of the best sense that your Chamber 
of Commerce has to-day; and in the midst of a thousand other 
cares, he steadily carried them forward. Among a world of 
dreamers he was the only one whose vision in the slightest degree 
approached the great realities of the future; and in his presidency 
he did not forget his vision. If anybody ever writes the history of 
the United States even tolerably well, his interest in the West will 
be brought out as it never has been. 

FROM THE REV. BROOKE HERFORD, BOSTON, MASS. 

The old Romans were accustomed to celebrate their victories 
with what they called a "triumph;" and they never thought their 
procession was complete unless they could drag along in it some 
captive specimen of the vanquished people. May I be allowed 
to be that captive specimen ? I am, however, a very willing cap- 
tive, drawn not in fetters of iron, but in bonds of admiration and 
love. 

So far as I represent England, I represent not that old England 
which Washington defeated, but the new England which recognizes 
that the defeat was right and a blessing to the world. Nay, more, 
by personal descent, I represent the nobler England which, even in 
those days of struggle, lifted its voice for America, protesting 
against the attempt to coerce the colonies as the war of the king, 
and not the war of the people. 

To-day, hov/ever, there is only one England on that whole 
matter. We think of Washington, and the strong men who gath- 
ered around him, as among the noblest characters of modern his- 
tory; and we rejoice with the great Nation whose foundations 
were laid in such a broad spirit of liberty, and such a grand trust 
in human nature. 



164 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

FROM HANNIBAL HAMLIN, BANGOR, ME. 

I sympathize with Chicago most fully in its noble and patriotic 
commemoration of the event named. It is a duty of the American 
citizen to know and keep alive the great services of George Wash- 
ington to our country, as well as to the whole world. And Chicago 
may be appropriately commended for its wise and patriotic action. 

FROM THE HON. L. T. CHAMBERLAIN, BROOKLYN, N. Y. 

I congratulate Chicago on her thoughtful patriotic observance. 
The lesson of this hour, as of a hundred years ago, is devotion to 
principle, citizen fealty, the supremacy of law. Ideas have power, 
right is stronger than force. God is over all. I say, with John 
Adams, "Independence forever." 

FROM HORACE WHITE, NEW YORK. 

The occasion which you celebi'ate is distinctly the inauguration 
of George Washington as the first President of the United States. 
Therefore the interest of the day centres in the personality of that 
great man. I think that all persons who study the history of the 
revolutionary period minutely will agree that without George 
Washington there would have been no American republic at the 
time when it came into life and being as an established fact; that 
he it was who gave force and effect to the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence; that while it was not he alone who did this, yet that if 
he alone had been absent it would not have been done. His Atlan- 
tean shoulders held the weight of a sinking cause in many a despe- 
rate hour when no other could have sustained the load. If we are 
allowed to make comparisons between him and his greatest succes- 
sors, I think he who bore the storm, first in the field and afterward 
in the cabinet, earned the double meed of glory which we, of the 
later generation, have gratefully apportioned to Lincoln and Grant. 

FROM THE REV. ARTHUR LITTLE, BOSTON, MASS. 

Living under the very shadow of Faneuil Hall, the birthplace, 
and the old South Meeting House, the cradle of liberty, and within 
sight of Bunker Hill Monument and Dorchester Heights, it gives 
me exceeding pleasure to send cordial salutations and congratula- 
tions on this auspicious occasion to a large number of stanch patri- 
ots in the metropolis of the West, who arc making a more desperate 
effort to preserve liberty than our fathers did to secure it. Your 
magnificent celebration put sleepy old Boston, which is living on 
its past achievements, to shame. 

The arrangements for the celebration of that day in Chicago 
are simply ideal. What an object-lesson for the children. Chicago 



OF WASNLVGTON'S INAUGURATION: 165 

does nothing by halves. By anticipation, I am already beginning 
to feel the inspiration of this superb event, and to feel the thrill of 
enthusiasm and patriotic fervor which, centreing in Chicago, will 
pervade every home and every hamlet throughout the entire North- 
west. 

The American spirit, the American flag, the American idea, the 
American hope, may these find a new interpretation and awaken 
new devotion and zeal in their maintenance and realization on this 
memorable day. 

The following lines from the Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, who 
made the address at the laying of the corner-stone of the Wash- 
ington monument at its completion, were also read: 

I. 

Illustrious names in each successive age, 
Vying in valor, virtue, wisdom, power. 
One with another on the historic page. 
Have won the homage of that little hour 
Which they adorned, and will be cherished still 
By grateful hearts till time shall be no more. 
But, peerless and supreme, thy name shall fill 
A place apart, where others may not soar. 
In "the clear, upper sky," beyond all reach 
Or rivalry; where, not for us alone 
But for all realms and races, it shall teach 
The grandest lesson history hath known. 
Of conscience, truth, religious faith and awe. 
Leading the march of liberty and law. 

II. 
Yes, century after century may roll. 
And bury in oblivion many a name 
Which now inspires the lip and stirs the soul. 
Giving promise of an endless fame; 
Yet still the struggling nations from afar 
And all in every age who would be free. 
Shall hail thy great example as the star 
To guide and cheer their way to liberty — 
A star which ever marks, with ray serene, 
The path of one, who from his earliest youth. 
Renounced all selfish aims; whose hands were clean. 
Whose heart was pure, who never swerved from truth; 
To serve his country and his God content. 
Leaving our Union as his monument. 



166 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

After the reading of the messages, the following resolutions, 
drawn up by the committee, were read and adopted by acclama- 
tion: 

Whereas, The inauguration of President Washington was also 
the inauguration of our present form of government, and therefore 
the harvesting of the results of a century and a half of democratic 
impulse, hope and struggle, and secured to America and to the 
world the political and religious and industrial liberty that our 
famous colonies had developed and fought for in that long period 
of separated life; and, 

Whereas, The republic which Washington and his compeers 
established was at that time the grandest experiment ever pro- 
jected in behalf of the democratic principle and the boldest claim 
ever made in the name of Democracy, repudiating the necessity for 
any and every form of irresponsible or centralized government and 
widening the capacities and facilities of democratic institutions to 
equal the area of any possible nation, and to answer the demands 
of any possible stability; and. 

Whereas, Looking back over one hundred years of peace and 
war, of political controversy and conservative constitutional devel- 
opment, we see the growing success of the great government estab- 
lished by the men of 1789; and. 

Whereas, Although this vast political success, although this 
recognized demonstration of the ability of the people to govern 
themselves when they are sixty millions as easily as if they were a 
Greek city or a Swiss canton, although this justification of democ- 
racy is the greatest treasure of this hundred years, we can also 
congratulate ourselves upon an unprecedented industrial develop- 
ment that has sensibly raised the well-being of all our people, and 
upon a social development that has conspicuously raised the intel- 
ligence and the happiness of our own people and of all mankind; 
and, 

Whereas, This great history has been made more illustrious by 
the eminence of a great company of incomparable men, who are 
not the least inheritance of the heirs of our wonderful one hundred 
years; therefore, 

Resolved, That we will bear constantly in mind that important 
teaching of our history, that our institutions depend much more 
upon our faithful support in times of peace than even upon our 
devotion in time of war. 

Resolved, That as we have to-day undertaken to impress upon 
the memories of the school children of this city the far-reaching 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 167 

importance of this red-letter day, so we will hereafter strive, by a 
course of education in our public schools, to fill the minds of our 
children with a knowledge of our history and with a veneration for 
our great men, that they may grow into an habitual knowledge of 
what American republicanism means and into an habitual senti- 
ment of patriotic obligations. 

Resolved, That we will ourselves set our children the example of 
a conscientious study of our history and institutions, and go before 
them in following the impulses of a sincere patriotism. 

Resolved, That we cherish the teachings of Washington even as 
we commend them to our children, and that we especially will both 
teach and imitate that characteristic national spirit which lifted 
him whenever the occasion required safely above mere considera- 
tions of party into the serene and exclusive contemplation of the 
public good, and that we will also teach and imitate the reverential 
spirit which was at all times a characteristic of Washington, recog- 
nizing in our national prosperity a result of the guidance of a 
divine wisdom and imploring for the future a continuance of the 
blessing of Him in whose invisible hand are the destinies of 
nations. 

The adoption of the resolutions completed the first part of 
the programme and paved the way for the orators of the day. 
Two speakers had been assigned to each meeting, as follows: At 
Central Music Hall, the Hon. J. M. Thurston and the Rev. S. J. 
McPherson; at Battery D, the Hon. John M. Langston of Vir- 
ginia and the Hon. Peter Hendrickson of Wisconsin; at Tent A, 
the Hon. Richard Prendergast and Bishop Spalding of Peoria; at 
Tent B, the Hon. Albert G. Lane and the Hon. William E. 
Mason; at the Exposition Building, the Hon. C. C. Albertson 
and the Hon. J. R. Doolittic; at the Board of Trade, the Rev. 
Frank W. Gunsaulus and the Rev. Robert Mclntyre; at the 
Cavalry Armory, the Rev. Dr. Barrows and Judge Otis; and at 
Farwell Hall, Mr. L. D. Thoman and Rabbi Hirsch. As the 
speakers came forward to deliver their addresses, they were met 
with round after round of applause. A spirit of unbounded 
enthusiasm permeated the great crowds and swayed with its 
magic both orators and audience. Every well-rounded period, 
every eloquent flight and every rhetorical climax was greeted 
with cheers and plaudits before it had fairly left the speaker's 
lips. Every mention of the name of Washington was the signal 



168 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

for renewed cheers, and throughout the time in which the 
speeches were being dehvered the vast throngs alternated, with 
that strange unanimity of movement with characterizes excited 
crowds, between intensely silent attention and clamorous 
applause. 

As the addresses came to a close, the chairmen at each of the 
various meetings stepped forward and asked those present to 
rise and join in singing "America," to which the author of the 
hymn, the Rev. Samuel Francis Smith, had added a centennial 
stanza: 

Our joyful hosts to-day 
Their grateful tribute pay — 

Happy and free — 
After our toils and fears, 
After our blood and tears — 
Strong with our hundred years — 

O, Lord, to Thee. 

It was with no faint voices that the multitudes took up the 
well-known strain and the air was still reverberating with its 
echoes when the people filed out on their way home. 

There were two features of the meeting at Battery D Armory 
which are entitled to separate mention. The first was the pres- 
ence of the Rev. Samuel F. Smith, author of "America," who 
had come by special invitation to participate in the celebration, 
and who joined with the audience in singing the hymn which he 
wrote in his youth, but which has become the property of the 
nation. The second was the singing of Prof. S. G. Pratt's cen- 
tennial hymn, by Dr. P. H. Cronin, who, four days later, was 
enticed from his home on an errand of mercy and brutally butch- 
ered by a gang of fanatical assassins. To those who, on Centen- 
nial Day, listened to the mellow tones of his voice, the discovery 
of his mutilated body in a sewer, where it had been thrown, like 
the carcass of a dog, to rot, was peculiarly shocking. 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 169 

CENTENNIAL ADDRESSES. 



THE REV. F. W. GUNSAULUS. 

AT THE BOARD OF TRADE. 

The inauguration of George Washington, and the adoption of 
the Constitution of the United States, are two flowers, brilliant 
and simultaneous, which grew upon a stalk whose roots ran down 
deep into the very eternity of God. No great event in the world 
is extemporaneous; no little event is born of a moment; and an 
event, such as that which gathered the powers of democracy into a 
single state paper, and incarnated the hope of the future in a single 
great personality, has wide sympathies and large relationships 
which run everywhere into the whole past. It is interesting to-day 
to think if ever before on this planet there occurred so large a cel- 
ebration of any political event. I have thought of the crowning of 
Charlemagne in the midst of the darkness of the Middle Ages; and 
then my mind went back to that one event in the history of Rome, 
the coronation of a Caesar as the one possible event that might 
have moved at one time such large populations with songs of joy. 
How different to-day is this scene! No Caesar sits before us 
enthroned upon the rights of the people, but the memory of George 
Washington is enthroned by all the affections and all the hopes of 
the American people. 

When the Western end of the Roman Empire fell it was certain 
that the human race had decided that Csesarism was done forever. 
Rule by force, sovereignty by power, had passed forever out of 
men's hope and thought. No longer possible was it to erect upon 
men's consciences and brains any sort of empire which was not 
supported by their voluntary and loyal allegiance. The whole 
problem of history, from the fall of the Western end of the Roman 
Empire until the day of the inauguration of George Washington, 
was to find out what kind of government human conscience and 
human thought would agree to. Through all the long Middle 
Ages it was one continuous contest between Christian thought of 
government and the thought of the Caesars. Living right there in 
Rome, under the Roman eagles, with every opportunity for Roman 
sovereignty, there had come into the world a man of the name of 
Jesus of Nazareth. That Man had attacked the national institu- 
tions with the heart and conscience of humanity. He had told the 
old aristocracies of the past that there was to be a new aristocracy, 
and it was to be the aristocracy of character and truth. He taught 



170 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

men to pray a prayer — "Our Father" — which lifted every man out 
of his individualism into social relationship with every other man, 
and made the picture of a common Father above the head of ple- 
beian and aristocrat. It was the thought of this Man, in that prayer, 
of the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man which went 
through those dark centuries with such tremendous power and 
such constant victory. 

He also taught the world a new conception of liberty. Before 
His coming, for the most part, man had supposed that liberty was 
a concession; that a throne, or a kingdom, or a scepter, or a crown, 
had the sole right of giving liberty to mankind. This man came 
and said, in the very presence of Rome, "Ye shall know the truth, 
and the truth shall make you free." He came to teach men that 
by so much as they took truth into their brains and hearts and con- 
sciences by so much they were free. He came also to teach another 
thing. The world was full of ancient institutions; there had come 
out of a very venerable past a large number of very reverent tradi- 
tions from old institutions, that were all moss-grown and covered 
with the memory of ages. This Man immediately said in every 
single operation of His life, in every line of His thought, that the 
valuable thing in this universe was not institutions, but man's soul. 
He began to teach humanity that the most interesting thing in the 
world to God was not what man made, but man himself; that every 
institution, like the temple, like the state, like laws, like thrones, 
might be thrown down, and that Man touched the most venerable 
institution in all his time — the Temple. He told them that it would 
fall before their gaze, and when He died the veil of the Temple 
was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. He came to tell 
men that man was more valuable than institutions; and when He 
died He died with the thought in the minds of His disciples that 
He had died for all m.en, bond and free, black and white, rich and 
poor, high and low. And, ladies and gentlemen, it was not in 
some club of infidelity, it has not been upon the platform of some 
infidel society, but it was at the cross of Christ, where one made all 
men equal, that your democracy and republicanism were born. 
For ten hundred years these great principles had a continuous 
fight, and all the way along through these centuries they led armies 
and re-created civilization. 

Rome was a perfect chaos at the close of the fifth century. The 
question was what power should come into the world and take 
hold of those battered and broken fragments and make civilization 
out of them. The great problem was what power should go into 
that chaos and bring order and government forth. You know of 



OF WASHINGTOM'S TNAUGURAT/ON. 171 

the long fight. You can see the battle-fields as you read your 
pages of history. You stand there on the battle-field of Chalons 
and see Attilla, the dread of the world, meet these new ideas. You 
go a little farther and you see the great Charles Martel marshaling 
Christians with his sword and encountering the hosts of Moham- 
medanism, and telling the world that the West belongs to Christ 
and not to Mohammed. You look still farther and you see a battle 
between brothers upon the field of Fontenoy. You go still farther 
into history and you are standing with Harold and his legions 
against William the Conqueror, at the battle of Hastings. You go 
into France at a still later period and you are standing with Joan 
of Arc at the gates of Orleans, from which she hurls the English 
hosts and makes France and France's future secure. And just at 
that time there seems to burst upon the world a tremendous glory 
of morning. The dark ages have gone, but these splendid ideas 
have ruled. There is John Wickliffe, who has translated the Bible. 
There in the heavens is John Huss, who has died for that Bible. 
There also by his side is John Gutenberg, who will print that Bible. 
There is Martin Luther, the leader of a great reformation, and at 
last here is Christopher Columbus, who comes and gives to the 
principles of that Bible a new world for their perpetual empire. 

There were other contests, as you know, ladies and gentlemen, 
but we must see this background of history to understand the 
leader of the American republic. Great visions of the matchless 
breadth and height of the possibilities within the soul, great vis- 
ions of the incomparable possibilities of the land he calls his coun- 
try without, are met in his spirit. 

Only as the eye of the American turns within, and accustoms 
itself to the depths of conscience, is there power enough in it to 
reach the horizon of his country without. The American eye was 
in training when an outcast of Galilee made all men equal before 
His cross, when King Alfred wrote the treaty of Wedmore, when 
the Army of God wrested the great charter from John in the 
meadows of Runnymede, when Savonarola ruled Florence, and 
when John Hampden refused to pay the ship money. When Crom- 
well refused the kingdom, it had so learned to look into the depths 
of conscience that, in the shadow of his pilgrim contemporary, 
Bradford of Plymouth, you may see the prophecy of one who 
should not only decline a kingdom, but also found a republic. An 
eye for duty within and for opportunity without — this characterizes 
the American. There was nothing so vast to Washington, the 
Virginia boy, as the great continent without, save the imperial 
domain of conscience within his soul. In the joy of his ardent 



172 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

youth, I note that the first moment of a real Americanism within 
him is recorded, when he writes this rule for his conduct: "Labor 
to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called 
conscience." To keep conscience is to let it reign. What, then, 
has been and what is left of Americanism have come because a 
boundless material opportunity, which we call our country, has 
been met thus far, in critical hours, by a limitless spiritual percep- 
tion of the value of man's personality, which in the young Wash- 
ington grew as he wandered amid these forests and traveled along 
the feet of these mountains. How the vision within — which had 
made Luther and Gustavus Adolphus — must have luxuriated and 
expanded, as the Virginia surveyor heard the splash of the distant 
cataract, or saw the peerless queen of night watch the mighty 
territory so long beneath her, a single field for statesmanship and 
of such magnificent dimensions. The sublime spoke to the 
sublime. Deep called unto deep. The very sweep of the vision 
without harmonized in hues of profound suggestion with the vision 
within. " What a mighty stage does man require," dreamed the 
young Washington, half unconsciously, as he saw what man was, 
in the vision of his imperious conscience. "What a mighty man 
does such an opportunity demand," spoke the shining rivers, the 
enormous valleys, the huxuriant forests in the unmeasured empire 
around him. There was the silence, and that was the mystery in 
which the mind of Washington grew. 

We are transported to other days in which this sort of Ameri- 
canism had its earliest trial. It is 1775. This policy of trusting 
truth absolutely has been for a century and a half, in an atmos- 
phere whose currents have gone from Plymouth Rock to the Caro- 
linas. It has been sung by the child of the Pilgrim and Puritan in 
New England, on the Hudson by the child of the Dutchmen who 
sheltered the Pilgrim in Holland, and the child of the cavalier and 
Huguenots has taught its melody to the south wind. Many souls 
less sublime than that of the young surveyor has known with him 
the vision within of man's possibility, and the vision without of 
man's opportunity. The democracy of truth has been making men 
democratic. The very skies have inculcated these large views and 
this serene faith. Every breeze has had the breadth of a continent, 
and has forbidden little things. In Harvard, Samuel Adams had 
supported the affirmative of the question: "Whether it be lawful 
to resist the chief magistrate if the commonwealth can not other- 
wise be preserved," and in Virginia the clarion of Patrick Henry 
has sounded. It is now a continent over which the same sky 
seems hovering, as that vihich, a century and a half ago, was over 



OF IVASmiVG TON'S INAUGURATION. 178 

Enplane! when Milton was Latin Secretary for Cromwell and Eliot 
went to prison. Those who left England's revolution brought 
inside the Mayflower with their faith a grand revolution for their 
children's children. And now the hour has come when the music 
which the world did wiX. hear at Marston Moor, Dunbar and Wor- 
cester, should break forth in larger power. 

The air was full of Americanism and this is the hour when 
Americanism must incarnate itself. Where is the person in whose 
life and spirit move freely these visions of what man has for Amer- 
ica and what America has for man, these two dreams of power and 
opportunity? Where is the soul v/hose hopes are as lofty as those 
which these mountains seem to hint, whose thought is as broad as 
these areas can inspire, whose sentiments are as rich as these mag- 
nificent valleys can suggest — the man, where is he, whose spirit is 
great enough to include such variety of power and possibility, such 
enthusiasm of youth, such generous sympathies, such dauntless 
faith as must ever live on this luxuriant soil between these singing 
seas? It is not the king yonder who rules the colonics. They are 
broad, courageous, magnanimous; he is narrow, obstinate, con- 
servative. He only can rule who can head this tide. It is not 
Grenville, prime minister. The times present too great a problem 
for his dogmatism or cautious doubt. Townshend's eloquence has 
charmed Walpole, but neither nor both of these may entertain such 
prophecies of man as move in the air above Concord and York- 
town, restless for incarnation. Not even Burke or Chatham, no 
man in England fully comprehended at that hour what that spirit 
was whose swift feet flashed from this side of the sea. 

That spirit was true Americanism. She had from within a 
vision of the dignity of man, from without a vision of the fearless 
opportunity before him. She had found the truth of the right of 
self-government ; she had courage and trusted it absolutely. 
Unseen, she stood undismayed before the awful shadow which 
English strength threw upon American weakness, until out of that 
shadow, at Cambridge yonder, stepped George Washington. His 
sword flashed with the old immortal idea. Again Charles I. must 
meet his Cromwell. The Mayflower had faithfully borne her 
unseen freight. But a century and a half had gone, and Amer- 
icanism had now become incarnate for victory. 

"Never to see a nation born 

Hath been given to mortal man. 
Unless to those who on that summer morn 
Gazed silent when the great Virginian 



174 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

Unsheathed his sword, whose fatal flash 
Shot union into the incoherent clash 
Of our loose atoms, crystalizing them 
Around a single will's unpliant stem, 
And making purpose of emotion rash." 

At last Americanism had the triumph, at last a watchman 
traversed the streets of Philadelphia shouting: 

"Fast 12 o'clock and a pleasant mortting. Convwallis is taken'' 

The brain of England at last recognizes Americanism triumph- 
ant in the sword of Washington. But even now, one man alone 
can save Americanism. It may fail here. The tide of feeling 
toward Washington is ocean high. It rolls upon the coast of a 
new-born nation with resistless power. It flashes with each suc- 
ceeding breaker; nothing can stop it. Desperation of soul adds its 
pathetic strength in a weary army. "A crown for the hero! Wash- 
ington must be king!" There stands your great American at New- 
burgh. A scepter waits; a throne invites him. Again, it is Crom- 
well called to a kingdom. Shall he, like "the Lord of the Fens," 
advise, consider, wait and postpone decision? Nay, nay! the 
Americanism of Washington spoke. Instantly he declined it. 
Like a Gibraltar, he hurled back the ocean tide and the sea was 
still. Could he fully trust the truth? Did he really believe in self- 
government. He answered doubt as to his faith in Americanism 
by returning to Mount Vernon to finish for posterity the portrait of 
the true American. Other duties, however, call him from private 
life. All through that stormy past Washington, with other true 
Americans, had seen the weakness of the Confederacy. American- 
ism, he saw, did not allow itself to reside in "joint-stock company" 
made up of states with no sovereign will, more than in a throne. 
And v^hen the necessity for a national government was apparent 
the convention of 1787 came and the Virginia delegate was chosen 
to the President's chair. Washington's Americanism shone like 
the North star. Against Anglicism on the one hand, against all 
theories of confederation on the other, the man who had met a 
monarchy and who knew in battle the inefficiency of the Continental 
Congress, battled for a nation, as at Monmouth and Yorktown. It 
was to perpetuate those victories that he, who understood them, 
labored with other far-seeing patriots; and at last the Constitution 
came. It was the record of a noble Americanism, and yet it was 
not so noble as the Americanism of George Washington. 

In its compromises, the eye of the prophet saw evil and danger. 
Already he could hear the voice of nullification and he could see 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 175 

the slave-power rise for secession. At last those fears were real- 
ized; but the Americanism of Washington carried the nation 
through the peril and stands yet to-day pointing the way for us. 
There is a pathetic grandeur in his figure at the close of the Revo- 
lution. He must do more than Cromwell; for he must insure the 
sovcFeignty of those principles which had been won at so mighty a 
cost. During that convention, it was a question whether the 
larger Puritanism which had left England in Cromwell's time, to win 
the triumph here, should continue in the state what it had gained 
on the field. This American Cromwell had also fought against 
the idea that a king was irresponsible to the people he ruled. Was 
he also to be a leader whom the ne.xt generation would decline to 
follow? Like the great Englishman, he, too, had seen glitter on 
his sword the recovered rights of freemen. Must that truth have 
an army for its parliamentary defense, or go out of sight for a 
time? He had refused a despotism at the hands of an army. 
Should he need to become the protector that he might keep either 
anarchy or some young Charles II. from the throne ? 

How decisively all these questions were answered! Yea, they 
were answered so well that the compromises of the Constitution 
could not foil the march of Washington's Americanism through our 
country. Years after his death did this Americanism have its 
severest trial and surest triumph. For we now look back to the 
day when Ihe genius of Calhoun had staked all on nullification, 
and the dissolution of the nation seemed imminent, to see the form 
of Washington standing in the shadow of Andrew Jackson, as he 
says: "The Union must and shall be preserved." In the hour 
when Hayne repeats the philosophy of his great teacher and thrills 
the Senate of the United States with his eloquent words, the Amer- 
icanism of Washington steps into the shoes of the defender of the 
Constitution, and Daniel Webster makes the spirit of disunion 
tremble in its castle. It is in this hour of his communion with the 
soul of the great leader, that the orator understands Americanism, 
and he says, "I was born an American, I shall live an American, 
I shall die an American, and I e.xpect to perform the duties incum- 
bent upon me in that character to the end of my career." Wash- 
ington's Americanism saw the danger in slavery. On with the 
growing crisis does that spirit travel, until at last Robert Toombs 
proposes to call the roll of his slaves on Bunker Hill. Warren did 
not die to consecrate that soil to such a purpose. Nay! Nay! 
And soon the Americanism of Washington is incarnate in the 
person of Abraham Lincoln, who says, "I believe that this govern- 
ment cannot endure permanently half slave and half free." Again 



176 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

the sword of Washington gleamed in the fire of war, nor did it rest 
till the old Union was saved. Two centuries had gone and the 
larger Puritanism was victorious. 

Washington's value to us lies in his Americanism. Napoleon 
died with the hope that his reign might be considered a dictator- 
ship; Washington, with the hope that an American dictator 
was rendered impossible. One is the typical autocrat; the other 
the typical republican. There is a republicanism in duty, for every 
man has its privilege and its cares. Napoleon had no duty but his 
glory. Washington had no glory but his duty. There is a repub- 
licanism in every honest, reverent effort to win success. Every 
man has these inspirations and opportunity. Napoleon's destiny 
was autocratic; the destiny of Washington is vouchsafed to every 
man. The genius of Napoleon is solitary and has a monarchy all 
its own; that of Washington seems only the large perfection of 
that which every man feels is in him. The influence of one is 
imperious, dazzling, dictatorial; that of the other genial, inspiring 
pervasive. 

In the forefront of a nation's life, it is of deepest significance 
that there may stand one who shall invite into largest life the 
peculiar characteristics of the national spirit. There is the great- 
ness which humiliates and there is the greatness which inspires. 
Under the spell of Napoleon's influence there can be no self-gov- 
ernment; every man must feel how weak he is. Under the benign 
influence of Washington self-respect rises; there can be no tyranny; 
every man sees his own power in the larger power of his leader. 
The triumph of Napoleon would have made tliat of his successor 
impossible; there was that in Washington which, though it had 
been defeated in him, would have been victorious in the next gene- 
ration. To-day the loftiest with the lowest looks up to him and 
cries: "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the 
horsemen thereof! " 

THE REV. s. J. Mcpherson. 

AT CENTR.\L MUSIC HALL. 

The two ruling ideas of American history are liberty and order. 
By their propitious interaction as the centrifugal and centripetal 
forces of political astronomy they have struck out the wide astral 
orbit of our national career. 

Liberty, the herald of order, was born with human nature itself, 
as the inherent, God-given right of man. But it only reached its 
majority when it landed an exile on the bleak coast of New 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 177 

England. Centuries of medieval darkness and despotism had 
shadowed and shriveled it. The dim, interior light of its patient, 
self-consciousness had been barely kept alive by the hostile breath 
of tyranny. Eternal twilight had fitfully dawned upon it with the 
horizontal sun of the si.xteenth century. Then, discovermg the 
friendly wilderness of the virgin West it had leaped glad-hearted 
across the sea to enjoy at last its congenial day. Here, for the 
first time at home, rescued from fictitious hardships, it became 
indigenous in the New England town meeting and school and 
church. Heroically it wrested autonomy for the young colonies 
from sweeping maternal oppression. Resolutely it reserved substan- 
tial rights to the succeeding states. Enthusiastically it dictated 
the epoch-making Declaration of Independence to the discerning 
mind of Thomas Jefferson, and the supplementary emancipation 
proclamation to tlie great heart of Abraham Lincoln. And the 
stars in their courses are still fighting for liberty against every 
siserary. While cherishing hard-won treasures, local self-govern- 
ment and free play for the individual, it shall yet bury out of our 
sight forever the repulsive carcass of Mormonism; shall yet grant 
the full rights and duties of moral manhood to all dependent races 
and souls within our borders; shall yet irradiate and so eradicate 
the last vestige of alien systems which may menace freedom on 
our soil; and, ringing out like a bell let down from God, shall yet 
"proclaim liberty thi-oughout all our land unto all the inhabitants 
thereof." This glorious idea measures the whole circumference of 
our possibilities as a nation. 

Excepting the approaching Centennial of the Supreme Court 
of the United States, its natural sequel and supplement, this Cen- 
tennial to-day is the last of that august series which began four- 
teen years ago at Concord and Lexington. The Centennials of the 
Declaration of Independence, of the various battles of the Revolu- 
tionary War, of the formation and adoption of the National Con- 
stitution, of the Ordinance for the Government of the Territory 
Northwest of the Ohio, culminate in the present anniversary of the 
actual organization of the government of the United States. The 
Grecian Confederations, the Venetian Republic, the Geneva of John 
Calvin, the Commonwealth of Cromwell, were among the faint fore- 
shadowings of our real self-government. The colonization period 
was our exodus from slavery and our long wilderness march 
toward the land of promise. The preliminary wars and the Revo- 
lution itself were its decisive conquest. But with the inauguration 
of George Washington ended the weariness of hope deferred, 
ended even tlie practical anarchy of our iron age, which occupied the 



178 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

interval following the great war, and in which every incipient state 
did what was right in its own eyes. Hence, the current Centennial 
is the summary and climax of all that have preceded — in value and 
significance it is the greatest of them all. Greater than the Fourth 
of July, the evangel of freedom; greater than the 17th of October, 
Yorktown's death-knell to despotism, stands the 30th of April, the 
covenant of order and the beginning of national life. The empha- 
sis of this occasion, thank God, is placed, not upon a rebellion 
which because it was both just and successful is called the Revolu- 
tion, not upon a passive scheme of political ideas like Plato's 
Republic or More's Utopia, not upon the abstract political system 
of a paper constitution, but upon concrete and practical action 
which assumes its freedom as already secured, which realizes its 
lofty ideals and sets the machinery of its government in actual 
motion. The first President looms before our eyes to-day as the 
typical flesh-and-blood embodiment neither of empty liberty nor 
of brute force, but of vital organism and creative order. 

In the marvelous organization of this young commonwealth 
what awe-touching displays of providential control! Hewho, on this 
uplifting anniversary, can not look toward heaven and say: "Thou 
hast multiplied the nation, Thou hast increased their joy," must 
ignore the plain lessons of history, must be blind to the key-stone 
of our miraculous structure. He must, as a degenerate son or suc- 
cessor, be out of sympathy with the Huguenots and Hollanders, the 
Covenanters and Puritans, who in the name of God and of man 
colonized this new world of hope; out of sympathy with the con- 
structive geniuses who built the framework of our constitutional 
government; out of sympathy with Benjamin Franklin, who prop- 
posed prayer as the one remaining avenue of escape from the 
insuperable difficulties of the famous Convention in Philadelphia; 
out of sympathy of the Father of his Country, who developed his 
first inaugural address around this sacred sentiment: "No people 
can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand, which 
conducts the affairs of men, more than the people of the United 
States." 

Our history shows that for once, at least. Providence was on the 
side of the v^^eaker battalions. First of all. His great and wide sea 
was made our ally. The barrier of the Atlantic Ocean, wider than 
a dozen deserts, deeper than a hundred Jordans, buttressed this 
new chosen people against Egyptian contaminations and assaults, 
and left us free to work out our own destiny unhindered. 

Providence endowed our country with natural resources in 
comparison with which the old land of promise was barrenness 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 179 

itself. By carrying out the ancestral policy, we have now a heritage 
greater in area than the whole of Europe, and estimated to be capa- 
ble of sustaining, by agriculture alone, a thousand million of 
inhabitants. Our mining industries eclipse those of Great Britain 
or of all the remaining portions of the world. In manufactures 
and in commerce, as in population, we are barely second among 
the civilized nations. Such things as these put upon us greater 
responsibilities than ever nation sustained before. O, we look 
upon our broad and rich domain, producing nearly every known 
variety of plant and animal; we look down into the depth of our 
soul at forests of coal, oceans of oil and treasure-troves of precious 
metals; we look up to our two lordly mountain systems, spanning 
the continent, and lifting it out of the waters like the twin but- 
tresses of some gigantic bridge; we look out upon an endless sys- 
tem of inland lakes and rivers, which drain and feed our continent 
like the blood system of the human body; we look abroad over our 
two great ocean highways, indenting our shores with admirable 
harbors and spurring us on to compete for the commerce of man- 
kind; and, as our hearts dilate with gratitude over the exhaustless 
resources of this prodigal land, we may well exclaim: "The Lord 
hath not dealt so with any nation." 

Providence favored our forefathers by giving them a new world 
for their majestic experiment in civilization — a world new and 
therefore unbiased by hostile precedents. How blessed it is that 
the colonies had not first been petrified, like yearning France, by 
ages of monarchical habits before they devised their peerless 
republic. If they had left the undertaking to us our country, I 
fear, would still be but a pale duplicate of Canada, whose parts are 
provinces of a foreign realm. Certainly the difficulty of the task 
would now be immeasurably increased. 

Providence favored us with an unique commingling of peoples 
and ideas. This fusion of itself alone must inevitably have issued 
in a novel economic composition. No one race controlled. If 
British blood fortunately predominated, its insular prejudices were 
largely neutralized by strains of continental transfusion. 

It was a parallel Providential benefit that the various nation- 
alities thus thrown together were swiftly forced to make common 
cause with one another by the blind folly of the mother countries. 
God made the wrath of man to praise him. European neglect or 
abuse hastened American unity. Similarly it was no accident that 
Old World persecutions, ecclesiastical or civil, had compelled so 
many men of the noblest type to seek a haven in the New World. 
Europe was not worthy of them, and lo, they turned to America. 



180 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

We are all debtors to the fact that they brought with them a 
natural hatred not only of tyranny but also of that ignorance 
which makes tyranny possible. In order to found their Republic, 
they first built colleges in the woods, and from Scotland and 
Holland they transplanted common schools two hundred years 
before England had any. However surprising to Tocqueville and 
Bryce, is it strange to us that urged on by common sufferings and 
a common faith, our fathers made intelligence, equality and uni- 
formity characteristic of our country.' Is it strange that the nation 
became rich in strong, good men? 

Where else in all the topography of time will you find such a 
galaxy of minds gifted with so lofty yet practical a genius for 
government? When I consider vi'hat the forefathers accomplished 
with their most meagre external resources, I stand uncovered 
before them. Dr. Edward Everett Hale, complaining that we have 
retired George Washington to the realm of myths, appeals from 
Washington the soldier, the statesman, the President, almost the 
demigod, to Washington the man. One can sympathize with that 
sensible effort and yet continue to be conscious of the reverence 
which renders the effort so difficult. Measured by my standard, 
this Timoleon of America was a superlatively great man. Yet, 
after all, it is only his matchless radiance that eclipses the splendid 
luster of such colleagues as Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison and 
Adams. Our highest gift from Providence is found in these 
wonderful men who first rehearsed their principles and tried their 
experiments in the colonies, and finally, when God's hour struck, 
furnished forth these United States. 

Fellow-citizens, if we are studious of American history, devoted 
to the ruling American ideas of liberty and order, reverent toward 
Divine Providence and molded by the example of our transcendent 
fathers, the America of the future, great beyond our fondest 
dream, will be secure with the intelligent and patriotic posterity 
to whom our dear heritage must be handed down. 

With the venerable author of our national hymn, "America," 
who honors our Chicago celebration with his presence to-day, we 
may all devoutly join in this fresh tribute of praise and prayer: 

" The century ends — our hosts in peace 
Hold the broad land from sea to sea, 
And every tongue, and every breeze. 
Swells the sweet anthem of the free. 

" Still may the banner of Thy love 
O'er all our land in glory rest, 
Our heaven-appointed a;gis prove. 

And make the coming centuries blest." 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 181 

THE HON. JOHN M. THURSTON. 

AT CENTRAL MUSIC HALL. 

The inauguration of George Washington as President of the 
United States put an end to the divine right of kingly rule. 
Despots still hold in subjugation the lives and liberties of unwilling 
subjects. Emperors still surround with the splendor of courtly 
pageantry their crumbling thrones. Kings, shorn of their royal 
prerogative by the gradual encroachment of parliamentary power, 
still wield their puny scepters, and in imagination govern as of old. 
But the saintly mask no longer hides the hideous face of oppres- 
sion, and the clamor of the great bell on Independence Hall awak- 
ened the whole world to the glad knowledge that the divine right 
of government is in the people. 

When Paul Revere rode through the night, rousing the sons of 
liberty with the cry "To arms!" he not only summoned the pat- 
riots of Massachusetts to the unequal struggle and martyrdom of 
the morrow, but he summoned the genius of universal freedom to 
the revolution of humanitj' against the injustice and oppression of a 
slave-crushed world. That revolution did not end with the sur- 
render of Cornwallis at Yorktown. It still goes on wherever some 
desperate martyr hurls his bare breast against the bayonets of des- 
potic power and with his life makes way for the liberties of his 
fellow-men. It still goes on wherever some great constitutional 
leader dares to combat the prejudices of political associates that 
government may be administered to all alike. It still goes on 
wherever the mighty engine of a free press scourges injustice with 
its scorpion lash. It still goes on wherever eloquence and song 
have power to stir the souls of men. It still goes on wherever from 
Christian pulpits is preached the living word of God. And this 
mighty revolution will be carried on by every people and in every 
land until the glorious sunrise of its victorious day rests with equal 
splendor upon all the earth. 

On this Centennial occasion our hearts are filled with gratitude 
to those great men whose inspired patriotism, lofty courage and 
sublime sacrifices wrought out the miracle of American indepen- 
dence. They toiled and struggled not for themselves but for all 
future generations. They did not dream what mighty strides 
would mark the nation's onward path. They saw but dimly 
through the mists of years the possibilities of time. 

They sought no honors, asked for no reward. They laid their 
lives as willing offerings upon the altar of duty, content to know 
that what they did was for the sacred cause of right. Who can 



182 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

fitly commemorate the courage and devotion of those patriots and 
heroes of '76? What pen can write, what tongue can speak their 
fitting mede of praise? History has immortalized 300 Spartans 
who, at Thermopylae, kept the gateway of their country until all 
but one had died. The chivalrous devotion of Napoleon's old 
guard, who at Waterloo made absolute verity of their watchword, 
"The old guard dies, but never surrenders," has filled the world 
with wonder. And the song of Tennyson has thrilled the hearts of 
all mankind with the story of the noble six hundred who at Balak- 
lava charged an army. The minute men of Lexington and Bunker 
Hill, the defenders of the old log fort in Charleston harbor, the 
refugees of Valley Forge — yea, every "ragged rebel of them all" — 
should be canonized as saints in the cathedral of liberty, and the 
memory of their glorious deeds will live undimmed forever. 

And not alone by those who drew the sword for freedom are the 
laurels to be worn. There were great men of peace, whose wisdom 
and statesmanship guided the struggling colonies, armed, equipped 
and maintained their armies, brought order and union out of the 
chaos of conflicting interests, and finally confirmed by wise consti- 
tutional provision the victories of war. Such names as those of 
Adams, Franklin, Jefferson and Madison have reached the full 
stature of immortality. 

Having gained their independence and formulated their consti- 
tution, the people of the new union were called upon to select a 
chief magistrate. Our ancestors, in the barbaric ages of the past, 
when victory had blessed the prowess of their arms, raised upon 
their bloody battle-shields the greatest hero of them all and 
crowned him king. The same spirit of hero-worship elected 
George Washington our first President by unanimous choice. He 
might have made himself a dictator, and perhaps a monarch, but 
he only accepted the exalted presidential office for the purpose of 
more certainly establishing constitutional government in the land, 
and for the people his sword made free. 

We stand at the close of our country's completed century. In 
place of the original thirteen colonies there are now thirty-eight 
populous, thriving, magnificent commonwealths, while four new 
stars already cast their dawning glory across the azure of the 
nation's flag. From less than four millions, who struggled through 
the desperate night of revolution to the morning of constitutional 
freedom, we have grown to sixty millions of happy people, all in 
the full enjoyment of individual liberty; all in exact measure pro- 
tected by the law of the land; all with equal opportunity pursuing 
the prosperous paths of peace. 



OF WASHINGTON'S mAUGVRATIO^. 183 

The wilderness of the new world has indeed been made to 
blossom with the roses of civilization. Into the depths of the 
primeval forest the axe of the sturdy pioneer has led the way. 
The virgin prairies, wakened from their eons of repose, repay the 
efforts of patient husbandry with the richest gifts of garnered 
sheaves. From the golden hearts of our mountains has been 
brought to light the countless billions of their hoarded wealth. 
The ingenuity of man has chained the rivulet and the river, the 
cataract and the waterfall, to turn the wheel that toils for him. 
From orient to Occident, over the great steel highways, thunders 
the commerce of the world. Grand and thriving cities rise along 
the way, their apparent growth of centuries wrought by the magic 
of a few short years. Wonderful labor-saving machines have mul- 
tiplied the power of human hands, while the inventive Yankee has 
fathomed the miracle of electric force and compelled the lightning 
to perform the will of man. 

In every valley nestles the cottage of contented labor; in every 
hamlet stands the temple of free education; on every hillside rises 
the church spire of a God-given faith. This is the only land where 
man is truly free; the only land in which there is no rank, no 
caste, no aristocracy of blood, of birth, of wealth, of place. It is 
the only country where labor is fairly paid; where the industrious 
working man, out of the accumulated savings of his daily toil, can 
pay for the pleasant home in which he lives and send his children 
to the public schools. It is the only place where the peasant is a 
prince and the plowboy may become the President. 

Yes, thank God for it, in the United States the sweat of honest 
toil is honorable and honored, and the dinner pail, in the hands of 
an American mechanic, is the badge of America's truest nobility. 
We offer to confer upon every man who will understandingly and 
in good faith accept the sacred trust the priceless rights and fran- 
chises of American citizenship; but no man must be permitted to 
profane the sanctuary of liberty with his unholy presence who does 
not subscribe with his whole heart and soul to the tenets of our 
Constitution and who is not ready to yield implicit obedience to 
the statutes of the country whose protection he invokes. The 
United States of America must never become the asylum for crim- 
inals nor the hotbed of conspiracies against law and order. The 
government of the people, made possible by the sword of a Wash- 
ington, preserved by the victories of a Grant, and consecrated by 
the martyrdom of a Lincoln, must never be endangered by the dis- 
semination of those monstrous theories which would overturn all 



184 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

government for anarchy and subvert all society to the dominion of 
unbridled passion and brute force. 

And now, as a nation, we face the sunrise of a second century. 
What a splendid destiny awaits our glorious Union, if its people 
keep the faith. And yet its pathway may be beset by many dan- 
gers, its sky obscured by many clouds. This republic can only 
live so long as it holds to the original purposes of its creation: to 
protect the lives, to insure the liberties and to promote the happi- 
ness of all its people. Its corner-stone is the consent of the gov- 
erned; that consent only continuous so long as all are given equal 
voice in its affairs. The great crisis which this nation faced in iS6i 
came to it, not because of any inherent lack of constitutional power 
to preserve its unity. But it came because the framers of our Con- 
stitution denied to one class of their fellow-men that same measure 
of liberty and equality which they demanded for themselves. 

The Constitution of the United States was framed and adopted 
as a partial compromise to an existing condition of things. The 
representatives of the thirteen colonies, assembled for the purpose 
of creating national government, felt that the necessities of union 
overshadowed all other considerations, and therefore they tempor- 
ized upon the question of human rights. Such a compromise 
could not outlast the conscience of the nineteenth century. The 
institution of human slavery was inconsistent with the Declaration 
of Independence. A government which proclaimed liberty and 
equality as a God-given heritage and yet denied both to one class 
of its people could not withstand the test of time. The culmina- 
tion of the irrepressible conflict between right and wrong, justice 
and crime, humanity and oppression, was sure to come. It was a 
conflict far antedating the adoption of our federal Constitution. 
The Puritans of New England and the cavaliers of Virginia brought 
to this country two irreconcilable theories of the rights of men. 
Both were descendants of that grand race which first successfully 
set up the bulwark of law against the unrestricted will of kings; 
their common ancestors in 1215 had wrested from unwilling 
royalty the great Magna Charta, that sublime declaration of 
the power of the people, that great constitutional landmark of 
human liberty. But the cavaliers brought from the Old World 
their inherited traditions of superiority. The Pilgrims planted on 
the shores of the New the great white cross of a second crusade; 
its mecca the shrine of equal rights. The Declaration of Inde- 
pendence breathed the spirit of Puritan faith. The Constitution 
of the United States submitted to the domination of the Cavalier. 

The supreme hour of the nation came. Its life weighed in the 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 185 

balance as against its sin. It was demanded that one or the 
other should perish from the earth, and the republic lived. 

The genesis of American liberty was in the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, but the gospel of its new testament was written by- 
Abraham Lincoln in the Emancipation Proclamation, and the 
Magna Charta of man's real freedom and equality was secured by 
Ulysses S. Grant under the shadow of a Virginia apple tree. 
Appomattox and Plymouth Rock, the one the complement of the 
other, God's two footsteps marching on. Massachusetts and Vir- 
ginia, commonwealth and dominion, are at last wedded at the altar 
of a common faith, and on this sacred Centennial of Constitutional 
Freedom the descendants of Roundhead and of Cavalier all unite 
in thanksgiving to Almighty God for the preservation of the 
Union on the basis of universal liberty. And the time will never 
come when the American people can afford to divide their joint 
inheritance at Mount Vernon and Bunker Hill. 

This retrospection of the mighty past is pregnant with wisdom 
for future guidance. It is almost impossi'ole to hope that the 
present unparalleled era of prosperity and peace can be continued 
through all future time. In the marvelous development of the 
United States; in the rapid accumulation of unprecedented wealth; 
in the amalgamation of many nationalities; in the unseemly greed 
for place and power; in the startling combinations of corporate 
capital; in the rapid growth of great cities; in the tendency toward 
class distinction; in the establishment of a mushroom aristocracy, 
and in the growing discontent of the laboring masses is there not 
danger to the republic? 

Rome was a republic once. And "to be a Roman was greater 
than to be a king." Her strength was in the rugged manhood and 
Spartan simplicity of her citizenship, but grown over-rich and 
strong her people sunk their virtues in the maelstrom of lu.xury and 
vice and forfeited their liberties forever. The free states of Greece 
perished in the same way and from the same cause. 

It would be useless to deny the fact that in the United States 
there is a growing tendency to subordinate abstract right to con- 
crete gain. The worshipers of mammon are on the increase and 
the man of money too often takes undue precedence in social and 
political life over the man of brains. This unjust aggrandizement 
of the rich is the temptation of the struggling poor. It breeds that 
spirit of restlessness and discontent which sometimes incites to 
lawlessness and crime. It may well be feared that on some not 
impossible to-morrow of financial distress the ostentatious extrava- 
gance and unwarranted arrogance of the few may drive the 



ISG CinCACO'S CEXTEXX/AL CELEBRATION 

Struggling masses to desperate measures. Do not misunderstand 
me. I would not sanction any resort to violence for the redress of 
real or imaginary wrongs. The law must be respected and enforced 
or liberty is impossible. The rights of property must remain in- 
violate and justice will not tolerate illegal acts. Mobs are a men- 
ace to free government and should be dispersed by the iron hand 
of power. But I would make a mob impossible by the observance 
of that equality and the dispensation of that fellowship which 
recognizes the common brotherhood of the human race. 

There is no danger that any law will hereafter disgrace the stat- 
utes of our country which, by declaration or effect, refuses to any 
American citizen equal participation in the rights and privileges of 
citizenship. But it is at least possible that public sentiment, cither 
locally or throughout the country, may become so strong in favor 
of the especial rights and privileges of some particular class as to 
permit injustice to go unpunished. This should never be. If we 
are worthy the freedom we enjoy, if we are fit to participate in the 
blessings of popular government, if we are a God-fearing, law- 
abiding, patriotic people, then we should see to it that every Amer- 
ican citizen, high or low, rich or poor, at home or abroad, on land 
or sea, is protected in his right to live, to labor, and to vote, not 
only by legislative enactment, not only by administrative power, 
but by the ready sympathy of every American heart and the loyal 
assistance of every American hand. Thus will we realize the 
prophecy of our Lincoln that " this government of the people, by 
the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." 

It is worthy of solemn reflection that upon the morning of the 
day which was to witness the inauguration of our first President, 
the people were summoned to assemble in their several places of 
divine worship and return thanks to Almighty God for the bless- 
ings of free government; and the first act of George Washington 
after he took the oath of office as chief executive was to proceed 
on foot, attended by the witnesses of the inaugural ceremony, to 
the altar of the Christian faith, where the wisdom of an overruling 
providence was publicly proclaimed. I do not hesitate to assert 
that the genius of American liberty was born of the spirit of the 
Christian religion. It was the practical application to the affairs 
of men of that gospel of equality preached by the lowly Nazarene 
upon the shores of Galilee. 

The little band of worshipers who assembled in the cabin of the 
Mayflower, as it rocked at peaceful anchor by the shore of the New 
World, drew up the first written Constitution of popular govern- 
ment. This agreement, signed and executed by them all, received 
its inspiration from the teachings of holy writ. 



OF ivAsnn^GTON's inauguration: 187 

Jerusalem crucified Him who taught that doctrine of brotherly 
love which underlies all democratic institutions, but His resurrec- 
tion goes on in the souls of men, and His kingdom will come on 
earth with the universal republic. 

By the immortal memories of the heroic past we are summoned 
to the duties and responsibilities of the future. We pledge to the 
perpetuation of popular government and the maintenance of its 
free institutions the unwearying devotion of patriotic hearts. We 
pray that the blessings of Providence may attend us in the years 
to come, and the shield of a Father's love be over us alway. 

Ethan Allen demanded the immediate surrender of old Ticon- 
deroga "in the name of the great Jehovah and the Continental Con- 
gress;" and at the summons the sword of oppression fell from the 
nerveless grasp of the representative of despotic power. George 
Washington, as he stood before the assembled multitude and took 
the oath of office as our first President, touched with reverent lips 
the word of God. Abraham Lincoln, in His holy name, issued the 
mandate that set 4,000,000 people free. And Ulysses S. Grant 
gratefully acknowledged His supreme guidance of the armies that 
saved the republic. His mercy will still lead us on. On under the 
dearest flag that freemen ever bore. On in the broad sunshine of 
liberty, equality, and justice. On to the inspiring music of the 
union. On along the grand highway of the nation's glory to the 
future of our country's hope. 



THE HON. JOSEPH FIFER. 

AT THE EXPOSITION BUILDING. 

With the inauguration of George Washington as President of 
the United States the career of this government was actually 
begun. We have met to commemorate that event and to celebrate 
the achievements of a century. The lessons taught by the heroic 
example of the founders of this government cannot be too well 
understood. 

The difficulties and dangers which beset our forefathers after 
landing on these shores developed a physical and an intellectual 
manhood that has never been surpassed, and, in fact, rarely equaled 
in the history of the race. In the severe school of poverty and 
adversity they were taught those lessons of wisdom and courage 
which enabled them successfully to resist all encroachments upon 
their liberties by the greatest and most aggressive military power 
in the world, and led them finally to throw off the British yoke and 



188 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

lay the foundations of the American Republic — a republic that has 
been for a hundred years the hope, the admiration and the wonder 
of mankind, the foundations of which now rest securely on the 
virtue, courage and patriotism of sixty millions of happy, pros- 
perous and contented people. 

We feel justly proud of our military achievements in the eight 
years' struggle for national independence. The courage and forti- 
tude displayed by our fathers during those long and terrible years 
of war and devastation will forever challenge the respect and admi- 
ration of mankind. I would like to see a monument erected to 
their memory, not only at Bunker Hill, but likewise on all the 
battle fields of the Revolution, on which I would inscribe this 
epitaph, a paraphrase of that written to commemorate the courage 
of the three hundred who fell at Thermopylae: "Go, traveler, and 
tell at the capitol of the republic that we died here in defense of 
human rights." But, my fellow-citizens, their title to fame rests 
not so much upon tlieir triumphs in the field, great though they 
were, as it does upon that wise statesmanship displayed in the Cabi- 
net, which led to a more perfect union of the states under one 
federal Constitution. 

The revolutionary period produced many soldiers and states- 
men, the memory of whom will live so long as this government 
shall endure; but far above them all rises serenely the majestic 
figure of Washington, to whose greatness the genius of men has 
never yet paid a fitting tribute. 

From the past we turn to the future. Whither are we tending, 
and to what end is our political, social and moral life leading us.' 
Are we traveling over the same road leading to the same end that 
has been so often trod by the nations now dead? 

These are the questions about which we are deeply concerned, 
and which are disturbing the minds of our most thoughtful states- 
men. I prefer that each individual answer these questions for 
himself. 

I venture this much: Our desire for riches, for material pros- 
perity, is too great! Wealth is not an end, but only a means to an 
end; the real object in life being the moral, social and intellectual 
development of our fellow-men. The ability and desire to accumu- 
late great wealth do not necessarily indicate the highest type of 
manhood. I am almost persuaded that we are growing rich too 
rapidly, and that our ability to accumulate should not be empha- 
sized too strongly as a national virtue. It has been truly said that 
popular forms of government are possible only when individual 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 189 

men can govern their own lives on moral principles, and when duty 
is of more importance than pleasure and justice than material 
expediency. 

Of this I feel sure. A nation is approaching dissolution and 
decay when patriotism is of the lips and not of the heart— when 
religion is used as a cloak to cover hypocrisy and crime, and when 
avarice clutches the poor man's earnings and robs him of his mea- 
ger sustenance. 

"Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, 
Where wealth accumulates and men decay. 
Princes and lords may flourish or may fade; 
A breath can make them as a breath has made. 
But a bold peasantry, their country's pride, 
When once destroyed can never be supplied." 

Let us, my countrymen, look into the future with hope and 
confidence; let us do what we can to perpetuate the institutions 
under which we have so happily lived and prospered for a hundred 
years; for when we are in our graves and our children meet to 
celebrate the achievements of two centuries instead of one, they 
will praise or condemn us according as we deserve. 

Of the revolutions that may sweep over our fair land, or the 
great and good who may rise up to bless it between now and that 
far-off day, I know nothing, but of this I feel certain: Posterity 
will forever associate the name of Washington, the founder, with 
those of Lincoln, the preserver, and Grant, the defender of the 
federal Union — the three greatest Americans, who gave to our 
people nationality, liberty, equality and fraternity. 



THE HON. J. R. DOOLITTLE. 

AT THE EXPOSITION EUILDINC. 

On the 4th day of July, 1776, the "Thirteen United States of 
America," in Congress, at Philadelphia, made a unanimous Decla- 
ration of Independence from Great Britain. For the support of 
that declaration, with a firm reliance on the protecion of Divine 
Providence, they mutually pledged to each other their lives, their 
fortunes, and their sacred honor. The War of the Revolution, 
under that divine protection and under the lead of George Wash- 
ington, made that declaration good. 

The 4th of July, therefore, the day on which that declaration 
was made, has alv/ays been celebrated, and always ought to be, as 



190 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

the birthday of our national independence. Besides, the ideas 
contained in that declaration brought into the world a new 
political dispensation. It declared: the rights of all men are equal 
and inalienable; governments derive all their just powers from the 
consent of the governed. On these two ideas hang all the law and 
the prophets in this new gospel of man's political redemption. 
This is another great reason why the 4th of July ought to be, and 
I trust will be celebrated, not only in this republic, but in all 
the republics of civilized man, throughout the world, and to the 
end of time. 

Vet neither the Declaration of Independence, nor the War of 
the Revolution, nor the Articles of Confederation adopted by the 
delegates in Congress during that war (July 9, 1778) can be 
regarded as the establishment of constitutional government for the 
United States. It is true that Confederation styled itself "The 
United States of America," and it looked toward a perpetual Union; 
but, " each state expressly retained its sovereignty, freedom and 
independence, and every right, power and jurisdiction not expressly 
delegated" to Congress. But very little power to govern was 
delegated to the Congress. It was composed of not less than two 
nor more than seven delegates from each state; and in determining 
all questions each state had only one vote. 

The Confederacy had no executive department at all. During 
the recess of Congress a committee of one from each of the thirteen 
states, called the "Committee of States," had power to act; but 
only in cases where the Congress by a vote of nine of the thirteen 
states had expressly authorized their action. 

The Confederacy had no judicial department whatever. In 
certain cases provision was made that the "United States, in Con- 
gress assembled, should be the last resort on appeal" in disputes 
between two or more states. But they were more like arbitrators 
than a court clothed with power to enforce its decisions. 

The Confederacy had no taxing power. No money could be 
raised except by requisitions on the several states in proportion to 
the value of the lands of each, with their buildings and improve- 
ments, to be estimated under such rules as Congress should direct, 
but all taxes were to be levied and collected by the legislatures of 
the several states. 

As we now look back upon a Confederacy clothed with so little 
power for peace or for war, it seems almost a miracle that our 
forefathers achieved their independence. But for their almost 
superhuman courage, patience, patriotism and endurance; but for 
their intense love of country and of liberty, which seems almost 



OF WA SUING TON ' S IN A UG URA TION. 191 

inspired; and, above ail, i)ut for llieir abiding faitli in that Almighty 
Being who raised up for that period such great men as George 
Washington, Benjamin Franl<lin, Thomas Jefferson and others, 
they would certainly have failed. Of one thing we are certain, 
with the experience of the late Civil War before us, all of us, who 
bore any of its responsibilities, can aflirm with perfect assurance, 
that if the government of the United States had been clothed with 
no more power than the old Confederacy, we never could have put 
down the Rebellion and saved the Union and the republic as we 
did. But, thanks be to Almighty God! the Constitution of the 
United States, under v/hicli George Washington was made Presi- 
dent one hundred years ago to-day, proved to be no rope of sand. 
It is a government, established by the people of all the states, to 
stand forever. The Constitution makes the Union perpetual and 
indestructible; and, at the same time, it makes the states themselves 
perpetual and indestructible. It expressly guarantees republican 
institutions and equal rights to all the states in the Union. While 
it makes one republic, in peace and in war, one nation in all 
national and foreign affairs, it at the same time secures to all the 
states independence, sovereignty and home rule in all their domes- 
tic concerns. The Constitution of the United States is as far 
removed from secession on the one hand as it is from centralized 
despotism on the other. The United States is a federative republic. 
That is the only form of national government which can secure 
home rule to the people of all the states, and yet may become con- 
tinental as a nation in its progress and development. This federa- 
tive republic is the outgrowth and heir of all the ages. Under God 
we believe it is to stand forever. 

One hundred years ago this day George Washington, that prov- 
idential man — hero, patriot and sage — "first in war, first in peace 
and first in the hearts of his countrymen," was inaugurated first 
President of the United States. Fellow-citizens, we have come 
here upon the recommendation of the President of the United 
States and the Governor of the State. The citizens of Chicago in 
vast assemblages are now uniting with the millions of their fellow- 
citizens throughout the whole land to celebrate this first Centen- 
nial of that inauguration. It is worthy to be celebrated, in prayer 
and praise, in anthem and eulogy, in song and oration; with music, 
cannon and every demonstration of joy. First, because of the man 
who was inaugurated; and, second, because of the great event — 
the greatest in the history of mankind since the crucifixion. There 
is but one personage in all history who stands higher than Wash- 
ington: and He was even more than man. I refer to Jesus of 



198 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

Nazareth, the great social reformer, as well as the Redeemer of man- 
kind. It was He who in one short sentence of seven words, "Thou 
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," laid the axe at the root of all 
abuses and all special privileges, of all tyranny, oppression and 
slavery over the bodies and over the souls of men. It is that same 
idea of justice, equality and brotherhood which nearly eighteen 
centuries afterward inspired the Declaration of Independence and 
breathed into this republic the breath of life. 

In conclusion, fellow-citizens, no event, I repeat, since the cru- 
cifixion of Jesus Christ has done so much to elevate mankind as 
the establishment under God of this great republic upon the corner- 
stone of equal rights and human brotherhood, which are but other 
forms of expression for "Love thy neighbor as thyself." This 
abiding faith has sustained me on many trying occasions. Once, 
in the Senate of the United States, in the darkest hour of the Civil 
War, I did not hesitate to declare my firm belief that the United 
States is that great political power which the greatest of the proph- 
ets foretold, twenty-five hundred years ago, was to come upon the 
earth. That, after the golden kingdom of Assyria, and the silver 
kingdom of the Medes and Persians should be destroyed; after the 
brazen kingdom of the Greeks and the iron kingdom of the 
Romans should decline and fall, a new political dispensation — a 
higher, better and diviner power was to come. It was to come 
when the Roman Empire should be subdivided into the ten lesser 
kingdoms of modern Europe. And it did come. 

In this country it has come. 

There was no room for it in the Old World. This New World 
was reserved under God for that very purpose, and here there is 
room. Here, aye! here, the God of heaven has set up that new 
political power which shall never be destroyed; wherein the gov- 
erning power, to quote the words of the inspired volume, "shall not 
be left to other people;" which simply means the people shall govern 
themselves; in the beautiful language of Abraham Lincoln: "a gov- 
ernment of the people, by the people, and for the people." And 
the promise is, that, not by war or conquest, but by the light of its 
example, it shall break in pieces and consume all other forms of 
tyrannical, monarchical and aristocratic governments for civilized 
man. That promise it is fulfilling every hour. Just in proportion 
as man becomes civilized and Christianized, he becomes republican- 
ized — in one word, Americanized. 

Yes, fellow-citizens, as I believe, the divine promise is that the 
great republic of the United States, whose Constitution and gov- 
ernment was inaugurated by Washington one hundred years ago 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 193 

to-day, with a population of less than four million, and which at 
the end of its first century has nearly sixty million, if true to itself, 
shall stand forever. 



THE HON. C. C. ALBERTSON. 

AT THE EXPOSITION BUILDING. 

In the secret council chambers of a Masonic lodge in the State 
of New York, resting upon an antique oaken table, time-stained, 
dusty and well worn, is a book. That book should be sacred to the 
truthseeker of every land, because it is a Bible. It should be par- 
ticularly sacred to the patriotic citizen of this republic, because 
upon its cover is inscribed these words: " On the 30th day of April, 
1789, upon this volume was the oath administered to George 
Washington to support the Constitution of the United States." 
That book should be preserved forever; that book should be 
enshrined in gold; that book should be shown with reverence to 
the pilgrim of every land who comes hither seeking civil or religi- 
ous liberty. 

We are met to-day in the dawning of the spring time season, in 
this crowded city by the lake, to commemorate that occasion. We 
are met to take a retrospective view of the last century of our 
nation's history. Says Mr. Emerson: "Ours is an age of retro- 
spection." Whether or not this is true, comrades and friends, this 
is a day of retrospection; therefore let us look back over a century 
of progress and gather inspiration from the past for the future. 
Not only have we met to look back and review the past and thank 
God for it, but we have met to-day to do honor to that man who 
is the patron saint of the order the uniforms of which I am proud to 
see before me. 

From ages immemorial men have delighted to visit the graves 
of heroes, but not on that stately mausoleum in Paris, where rests 
the remains of the Corsican General, nor in the abbey where the 
Iron Duke was laid to rest, nor to the stately monument which 
marks the resting place of the Bard of Avon, does the freedom- 
loving and truth-seeking pilgrim of earth come with half the devo- 
tion he feels who bows at the tomb under the willows which grow 
by the side of the rolling Potomac. And in ages to come men 
shall delight to do honor to his memory, and under the inspiration 
of his deeds and of his character they shall unite in saying with 
his eulogist: "Hail, thou uncrowned king of the republic!" 
Uncrowned and crownless, yet as true a king as ever ruled, and as 
true a king as ever wielded scepter over submissive millions. 



194 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

We are a proud nation. It is right that we should be. We have 
something to be proud of. We have a history, and thank God for 
it. We have a history of Providence. I would that upon the white 
stripes of that banner might be inscribed this sentiment, for it is 
the truth! "God's providence is our inheritance." 

Before I close I beg you in your retrospection remember that that 
flag is not a mere piece of muslin. Remember that that flag is not 
so much bunting only. That flag is a synonym of liberty. That 
flag is a synonym of union. That flag is a synonym of opportunity, 
for under that flag, and under that flag alone, can we say to the 
young man starting out in life's career, however poor he be, however 
humble and obscure origin, you are a king; you are a free man; you 
may aspire to the highest honors. Under that flag alone is the son 
of the woodchopper equal to the son of the millionaire. Thank God 
that under that flag no brainless fop can stand up and claim the 
signs of a noble young man simply because he happened to have a 
decent parentage. Because a calf is born in a stable it is no sign it 
is a colt. The only aristocracy in this country is the aristocracy of 
worth, not of birth. The only royalty in this country is the roy- 
alty of character. The only sovereigns in this country are those 
who are sovereigns not by virtue of what rests upon their heads, 
nor by virtue of what is over their breasts, but sovereigns by 
virtue of what is in their heads and within their breasts. That flag 
stands for something else: It stands for fraternity of patriotic cit- 
izens, who, joining them together hand to hand, heart to heart, 
shoulder to shoulder, victory to victory, conquest to conquest, jubi- 
lee to jubilee, impulse to impulse, and inspiration to inspiration, 
have sworn to see that flag remain forever in the heavens. And 
against the insidious influences of foreign pauper criminal immi- 
gration, and against the insidious influences of Anarchists, Social- 
ists, Nihilists, Communists, and such men, who, coming to our 
shores, seek to bring hither the institutions of other lands — to 
these men we say, Palsied be the hand and palsied the tongue that 
would do aught to rob that flag of one single star. 

I will close by the repetition of those matchless lines written by 
our own American: 

"Sail on, O Ship of State! 

Sail on, O Union, strong and great! 

Our hearts, our hopes are all with thee, 

Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears, 

Our faith triumphant o'er our fears. 

Are all with thee — are all with thee!" 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 195 

THE HON. RICHARD PRENDERGAST. 

AT THE MEETING IN TENT A. 

It is well to rejoice and to celebrate the toils, the sufferings and 
the wisdom of our fathers. While we praise their efforts let us 
not forget to draw proper lessons from their example. 

What is the Constitution? Not a messenger of law and order 
appearing suddenly in the skies and descending to bless men for 
all time. It is the written expression of a nation for the guidance 
and control of its members. It was the last act in the great chain 
of events that resulted in the eternal union of liberty and law — in 
the establishment of a system of government that has for its corner- 
stone the recognition of the people as the sole depositories of 
power. Our government is not the child of chance. An orderly 
procession of causes, operating from the discovery of the continent 
until the present hour, have made the Constitution not only the 
instrument the fathers left it but the ever-broadening charter of a 
people's imperial power. 

On the southern half of the continent the ambition of the 
conquerors was to seize the wealth the natives had amassed, and 
the blighting effects of that course are felt in those latitudes even 
to this time. Different purposes animated those who conquered 
the wilderness of the North — with them industry and virtue were 
the sources of material progress — and built up colonies capable, 
though few in number and scantily supplied with the materials of 
warfare, to repel the assaults of the savage on the one hand, and on 
the other to overcome the strength and the armies of Great Britain. 

The centuries before the Revolution were given, in the provi- 
dence of God, to the formation of a people strong in their reliance 
upon Him. The colonists not only beheld the evils of tyranny 
manifested in distant lands, but their fathers had fled from tyranny, 
and they themselves were sought to be made the victims of its 
exactions. The light that in Europe began to beat upon the ancient 
claims of privilege spread to America, and the colonists became 
diligent inquirers into the nature of government, its origin, func- 
tions, and its end, and from their experience, their studies, and 
their needs, they evolved this principle: That government is the 
means for the preservation of order among great bodies of men, 
and of resisting external and internal violence. They believed 
that all the powers of government were of right derived from the 
people, and from them alone, and they rightly judged that this 
doctrine so well approved by their own reason was the decree of 
heaven itself. 



196 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

The contest between the monarchical principle and the popular 
principle was inevitable. The rights of kingship if not upon the 
decline had reached their highest point. The rights of manhood 
had been gathering force for ages, and had entered upon their 
upward movement. The contest between these forces, though 
fated to be waged in America, was a struggle most momentous in 
its consequences to the human race and for all time. To establish 
the right of self-government upon this continent would be to set 
the beacon of liberty so high that its light would penetrate the 
farthest domains of arbitrary power. Monopoly of government 
reigned every where, and it was fortunate for human rights that 
the vanguard of liberty consisted of men so fitted to be her cham- 
pions as were the fathers of our republic. Their struggle may 
rightly be regarded as the instrument in the hands of Providence 
to establish the new evangel. They were the children of a high 
destiny, without, perhaps, comprehending the full measure of their 
dignity and importance as factors in human history. The work 
they set themselves to do grew beyond their highest expectations, 
but they grew equal to all its needs. Perhaps they thought but of 
resistance to taxation v>^ithout representation, and as time went on 
it may be they grew to desire the independence of the several col- 
onies; but the power that they resisted was one, the effects of 
which, though manifested in special instances, had general opera- 
tion. Resistance to be effective had to be resistance of united col- 
onies. The words "Join or die" became a watchword of liberty. 
Resistance was impossible without unity, and unity made resist- 
ance successful. 

Great Britain attacked Massachusetts when she shed the blood 
of the patriots at Lexington, but that blow struck such fires of 
patriotic anger throughout all the colonies as fused them into one 
people. Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill are the sacred pre- 
cincts from which a nation came to life. Throughout the revolu- 
tionary struggle American arms were glorified by the cause they 
were used to vindicate. War, always dreadful, sufferings unsur- 
passed in severity were sanctified, because they were the means 
used by God to promote His great designs. Out of that struggle 
came the Declaration of Independence, a harbinger of victory, that 
epic of man's redemption from political thralldom, whose effects 
have not ceased to thrill the nations yet. 

When at last the united colonies were received into the family 
of independent nations as an equal new difficulties arose; new dan- 
gers threatened. The revolution against concentrated power had a 
tendency to recommend forms of government filled with elements 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 197 

of disintegration, and the articles of confederation adopted under 
the influence of revulsion from centralized authority soon demon- 
strated that, even though free, man was still human, and that order 
could not prevail without the existence of organized authority. 

Prior to the Revolution there was no visible bond of connection 
between the colonies sanctioned by law. They were communities 
distinct from each other. Their foundations had been somewhat 
dissimilar, and in the development of each there had grown up 
interests, sentiments, laws peculiar to itself. The common belief 
was that on the accomplishment of the Revolution each colony 
became sovereign and independent of all other powers and com- 
munities. This view took but small account of the part that 
necessity has in the formation of states; of that necessity which is 
the result of all of the conditions that exist at a given time and 
place, and whose power is as imperative as it is oftentimes invisi- 
ble. It soon became apparent that the plan of a league of indepen- 
pent states was insufficient both for the preservation of internal 
peace between the colonies themselves and for the purpose of 
asserting the power of the American people upon the theatre of 
international affairs. The statesmen of the time and the people 
divided on these questions. Some of the most fervent patriots of 
the Revolution opposed the adoption of the present Constitution. 
Patrick Henry, who will live forever in the annals of patriotic elo- 
quence, was among the number who believed they saw in the new 
Constitution the grave of liberty. But Washington, Jefferson, 
Hamilton, Adams and Madison proved themselves to be as ripe in 
statesmanship as they had been patriotic in the days that tried 
their souls. 

For months and years the burning question was: What form 
shall the government of the country take.' What shall be the 
measure of the authority that must be vested in a general govern- 
ment? What portion of the sovereign powers of the states shall 
they part with for the common weal? And, as the result of all, 
there was formed that instrument, bold, yet conservative, an inno- 
vation, yet replete with the elements of conservative strength, the 
Constitution of the United States. Tiiis instrument was the 
solemn act of the whole people of the United States — not a com- 
pact or a league entered into by sovereigns and from which as inter- 
est or whim dictated each was at liberty to withdraw. It is the 
definition by the people of the boundaries of their agents' power; 
it is the organic law on which the national government rests, and 
at the same time it is a pledge on the part of the whole people 
to each state and community that the substance of republican 



198 CHICAGO'S CEIVTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

government shall exist in every state forever; it is the pledge 
of the nation that self-government shall prevail in all grades of 
governmental being; it is based upon universal manhood suffrage, 
and, to judge it aright, it is to be construed together with those 
great occurrences that were practically contemporaneous with it 
and from which it emerged. The spirit of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, with all its sublime truths, is as truly a part of the Con- 
stitution as any word written in its text. 

And we celebrate to-day, not merely the complete formation of 
government, as provided for in the Constitution, but beyond this 
we celebrate the consummation of that great movement which 
transformed dependent colonies into an independent nation, a 
movement which found the individual dependent upon acts of par- 
liament and royal decrees, in the formation of which he took no 
part, and left the individual the unit of sovereignty, and the people 
the source of all power. 

And what a heritage is American liberty. Under its benign 
spirit education has ceased to be the patrimony of the few and has 
become the heritage and the birthright of all. The spirit of 
Thomas Jefferson breathing the purest of democracy, most gener- 
ous in its recognition of the rights of all men, permeates all our 
institutions. The very first amendment to our Constitution is a 
guaranty of absolute and perpetual religious equality before the 
law. The fairest countries of the world had been from time to 
time, and even for ages, plunged into strife and fratricidal war, 
because, failing to understand that the conscience of man is beyond 
the domain of human control, man sought to usurp a power over 
his brother which even divine authority has never exercised — the 
power to interfere with man's free will, the most exalted faculty 
the Creator has bestowed upon His children. The colonists them- 
selves had not been free from acrimonious contests upon this ques- 
tion; but, blessed be the Giver of all good, to whose love we owe 
this boon, that question is at rest with us forever. 

According to the spirit of our laws every man is free to pursue 
happiness— to seek his own welfare in such way as his own judg- 
ment approves. In other lands labor is not honorable; vifith us in 
all its varied forms it is the only source of honor. The hand, the 
heart, and the intellect accomplishing some rightful purpose are 
the best titles to esteem and favor. Elsewhere man is doomed to 
labor as a curse; with us he seeks it as a blessing. Upon this con- 
tinent labor first breathed the breath of life, first came to its high 
estate, and with uplifted eye looked upon the earth, and sea, and 
sky, its dominion, and felt that it, too, was fit for empire. True, 



OF WASNLVG TON'S INAUGURATION. 199 

slavery, that remnant of the ancient curse that liad existed in so 
many lands and in so many forms, had unfortunately struck its 
roots deep in the social, industrial and political conditions of our 
country. While desiring its extirpation, the fathers were com- 
pelled — accepting immediate non-interference as a lesser evil — to 
leave its amelioration and extinction to future times. For this 
they should not be condemned. The circumstances confronting 
them forbade any other course. But who shall declare that their 
act was even an error? The subject of slavery sustained the high 
debate, which for generations made the Constitution, its limitations 
and its extent, the boundaries of state and of national authority, 
its subject. The right of dismemberment of the Union and the 
claim of perpetual union ranged their supporters upon such lines 
that war alone could, as it did, determine the controversy. Per- 
haps it is well that this question arose and was settled with slavery 
as the provocation for difference of opinion. Had other questions 
and other times ranged the people of the country into hostile 
forces, who may picture what the result might be? 

We are so accustomed to universal suffrage that it is scarce 
conceivable that civilized governments at any time sought the true 
sources of their power anywhere but in the consent of the gov- 
erned. And yet, in the United States for the first time universal 
manhood suffrage was made the foundation of government and the 
arbiter of every public question. Growing out of this idea was the 
proposition that the place of man's birth was of no consequence in 
determining his right to vote. The republic sent its invitation to 
all lands that the oppressed might come, that they would be wel- 
come, not only to take part with us in the ordinary affairs of life, but 
that upon every individual who came with heart loyal to the principles 
of the republic she would place the crown of citizenship. Native or 
foreign-born, do we realize the dignity that is ours, we who are the 
ministers in the temple of the law? — more than this, the creators 
of law itself? From time to time a half-panic has possessed the 
faint-hearted, and a timid cry has been raised to restrict immi- 
gration. Our nation is an empire of emigrants. Columbus and 
the missionaries, the Puritans and the Cavaliers, Lord Balti- 
more and William Penn, Jackson and Phil Sheridan — all were 
emigrants. The republic was not founded by natives. The repub- 
lic was not founded for natives. The republic was founded for 
man, for every man who was born upon this continent or who 
would come to these shores willing to assume and to dis- 
charge the duties of citizenship. As heroic deeds as glorified our 
country's history were achieved by the foreign-born. Nor in civil 



200 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

life are they less in loyalty and worth than those so fortunate as to 
be born here. The highest boast of our revolutionary fathers was 
that the light of liberty was to shine so brightly that its influence 
was to be felt in all lands, so that the heavy-laden of all climes 
might be attracted by its beauty and come to share in its benefi- 
cence. Let us still be friendly to the millions who have come. 
Let us tender great welcome to the millions who are coming, who 
are coming even now, with sturdy frames and honest hearts, to cast 
their lot with ours. Let the only condition be that they will do 
their duties by the republic even as we are bound to do ourselves. 

Do they need education? Let us not give them effusive plati- 
tudes. The best way to transform the foreigner into an American 
is for every citizen to put conscience into all his public duties. Let 
us teach by the great force of example. How can he who was 
born a subject perhaps of arbitrary power be tractable under 
authority where, misinformed, he perhaps dreamt of unrestrained 
freedom, when he beholds the prize of citizenship lightly esteemed 
and its duties even neglected by those who should excel, and 
when he sees the actual government of affairs all too often in 
the hands of the unworthy? Do we all appreciate our power? 
More still, do we all realize the responsibilities arising from our 
power? Do we discharge the duties that are inseparable from our 
rights? The right of self-government was worth a war, and the 
price of liberty — the sufferings of those who struggled and the 
lives of those who died — was not too great. What does duty to 
the republic demand of us? Not life, not liberty, not property, not 
sufferings, not privations; but in these, our peaceful days, simply 
that we watch and guard and rightly use the treasure so hardly 
won, so wisely preserved and so happily transmitted to us by the 
fathers, the full fruition of whose courage and wisdom we celebrate 
to-day. 

The ballot is the freeman's arm. Before its force every wrong 
must fall; but if we permit its abuse, its power can be used with 
deadly effect against us and against posterity. Ordinary crimes 
against the elective franchise violate the integrity of the ballot, it 
is true; but there is a more insidious way by which its vigor is 
sapped, its essence poisoned, its power destroyed. That is by 
bribery of public servants, by illicit interference at the sources of 
law and in all departments where the law is administered. The 
coarse forms of offense attach to the externals. These are very 
easily seen, quickly discovered, and susceptible of prompt punish- 
ment. But the sinister corruptionist sends his agents where the 
people's servants are placed to do the people's will, and plays foul 



OF IVASH/jVGTON'S INAUGURATION: 201 

with delegated power. These are the arch enemies of liberty, 
whose misdeeds make or tend to make self-government a by-word 
and a thing of scorn. 

The great and the good of other times took part in public affairs. 
They were politicians. But with them place was a post of duty. 
So should it be with us. What nobler task than to be the guard- 
ians of the republic, even though it be in the obscure post of sen- 
tinel? In our times no sacrifice of material interests is involved in 
the performance of our duty. But it can not be performed merely 
by voting the day of election and abstaining the remainder of the 
year from all public affairs. How true it is that eternal vigilance 
is the price of liberty! Let us revive the good old New England 
town meetings so far as our conditions will permit, and they do 
permit a revival of the spirit of those town meetings. Let our 
elections be contests between principles and on occasions between 
men, and not a blind contest of partisan cohorts. Let good citi- 
zens regard it as an honor to have served upon a jury — to have 
been the dispensers of justice. A careful, prompt, cheerful and 
honorable discharge of public duties should exalt a man in the 
opinion of his neighbors. Public opinion is the general conscience 
findingvoice. Let us all join in creating it. Let its power be such 
that the briber, the gift-giver, the violator of the ballot, the wrong- 
doer of every kind shall be broken and bowed and sent his way in 
shame. What resistance would be evoked by an attempt on the 
part of a legislature to deprive us of the right to take part in any 
one or all of the duties of citizenship! And yet that which we 
would fight to prevent we too often do ourselves. 

Every generation has its own duty to perform; its own legacy 
to leave to posterity. May I submit that our duty is at least to 
transmit unimpaired to those who shall succeed us the priceless 
blessings of civil liberty? Shall it be said by the historian that our 
strength proved our weakness; that because there was no external 
foe we gave no heed to the corroding influences that were at work 
upon the pillars of the state? The fathers struggled with monop- 
oly and overcame its power. Are we unable to cope with it when 
it assumes another form and has somewhat different designs? The 
tyrant of those days denied the equal protection of the laws- 
denied the right to take part in the making of the laws. We have 
to deal with agencies that would leave the form of self-government 
to us, but at the same time use their powers for undue and selfish 
advancement. Those who at the foundation of the government 
foretold danger based their prophecies upon the history of other 
nations. They said that wealth would increase mightily, and 



202 CHICAGO'S CENTEN.VIAL CELEBRATION 

when it did that corruption would prevail, and that the people 
would lose the zest for liberty. Let it be our task to prove that a 
nation may be wealthy, yet its public functions not corrupt, its 
people not forgetful of their duties. Let us remember that the 
republic was founded not for the purpose of amassing wealth, but 
for the purpose of elevating manhood and making liberty some- 
thing more than a name, making freedom a great reality to all men. 

No man has the right to be a private citizen in the sense that 
he takes no interest, or but slight interest, in public affairs. This 
nation and all its powers, general, state and local, constitute our 
household. Let it be our earnest study and our continuing labor 
to see that its affairs are ordered well, and that our voice shall give 
the orders. After all, the highest work of man is not to become so 
that he may have no care for the morrow. Providence has deigned 
to give to us power that can be the means of bettering the condi- 
tions of the millions of the human race here and elsewhere. Let 
us begin at home, and, as we help to brighten the outlook for those 
who toil, whose bone and sinew and muscle is the staff by which 
the banner of our country is sustained and from which it floats, 
there will go out from our borders such moral energies as will 
break the bonds of privilege everywhere, such lessons of practical 
brotherhood that the lot of the unnumbered poor will be bettered, 
and such reverence for the nature which God has given to man 
that government by the law and by the conscience and for the wel- 
fare of man will prevail in all lands and in all times; such great 
conceptions of right and duty that the whole race will be elevated 
to higher levels of existence than earth has witnessed yet. 

The genius of the day will be my apologist for offering some 
verses that the hour inspires. Name them, if you will, a "Centen- 
nial Hymn :" 

Great spirit, through the universe. 

Though myriad forms Thy powers proclaim, 

What race, as ours, is bound with love 
To praise and magnify Thy name ? 

Thy word bade both the oceans part 

And raised this continent on high; 
Thou filledst it from unmeasured stores 

And blessed it with great destiny. 

And lo! when time was all fulfilled 

Thy wondrous purpose to declare. 
Thou gavest to man another world 

That he might found free empire there. 



OF WASIIINGTOt^'S INAUGURATION. 203 

Thou taughtst him once again Thy truth, 

That force is evil, love divine — 
And rule alone is just that flows 

Below, yet parallel, with Thine. 

Thou chastenedst him; but, purified 
By deep communion — yea, with Thee— 

He learned and builded on this rock, 
Thy word — " the mind of man is free." 

Thy counsels guided while were wrought 

The nation and the nation's laws; 
We thank Thee, bless Thee, bow in praise — 

Thou art, O God, the Sovereign Cause. 

My friends, let us be animated by the principles of the sages 
and the heroes whose work we commemorate; let us hope that the 
breath of a newer life will stir the breasts of men, that the horizon 
of human sympathy will broaden so as to embrace them all, and 
that the Constitution will be to those afar and to those who abide 
beneath its fostering care, indeed the temple in which the fathers 
of the republic enshrined Liberty, so that her spirit would abide 
among the sons of men forever. 



BISHOP SPALDING. 



AT THE MEETING IN TENT A. 



A great people needs not praise; and the millions who to-day 
assemble in all their cities and towns, in their public edifices 
of religion, of government, and of education, are gathered, not in 
a frivolous spirit of vanity, not in a si)irit of b(jaslfulness, but in 
the spirit of true joy and deep thankfulness. Indeed, if we look at 
what has been accomplished within a hundred years here in Amer- 
ica, it is easy to grow boastful. Yet a dispassionate view of the 
subject forces us to recognize that much of what has been achieved 
is due rather to fortunate circumstances than to the character and 
energy of the people. 

America was discovered at a time when Europe was merging 
from the darkness of mediieval barbarism, from its confusion, its 
lawlessness, and its ignorance. Thus already the populations of 
the Old World were prepared to some extent to begin a freer and 
higher kind of life here in the New World. And when North 
America was colonized, monarchy in Europe was everywhere 



204 C Flic A GO'S CENTEi^KIAI. CELEBRATION' 

degenerating into despotism. The disruption of the church had 
ushered in a century and more of religious wars and fanaticism. 
Thus the lovers of liberty and the lovers of peace were more than 
others attracted to these shores. Again, when we declared our 
independence, when finally after years of struggle our independ- 
ence was recognized by the world, the era of steam and electricity 
was about to begin in the world. Thus the nineteenth century 
dawned as the century of inventions, the centurj' of enlightenment, 
the century of the diffusion of knowledge, and of the growth and 
assertion of the principle of liberty. Our ancestors brought with 
them to America the greatest political principle that has ever been 
applied to the government of states, the principle of representa- 
tion. Again, here they found a country rich in all mineral and 
vegetable productions; they found an invigorating and wholesome 
air, and a climate stimulating to every kind of human energy. 
Thus, my friends, we perceive at a glance that God's providence in 
every way prepared for us a field wherein men might labor with a 
hope of bringing forth the best fruits. 

Yet, after all has been said of the circumstances of the age, of 
the character of the early colonists, of the political and religious 
principles by which they were animated, of the climate and soil, 
yet we must say that a great sum of achievements still remain for 
which the people alone must be given credit. Why has this 
country become the most attractive on the whole earth? Why is 
it from every part of the world men turn their faces toward us and 
seek here higher blessings than they have hope of finding else- 
where? We offer them better opportunities; we offer them facili- 
ties for leading brighter and higher and nobler and richer life than 
can be found anywhere else on the earth. Why to the north of 
us, in Canada, has there not been the same development? Why to 
the south of us, in Mexico and in the islands, why nowhere in the 
New World has there been a development which can be compared 
with ours. Those regions have climates in some respects superior 
to ours; they also were colonized by Europeans, and yet we have 
so far outstripped them that we alone are Americans. We are 
Americans! 

The great achievement of the American people is the establish- 
ment of a federal government on republican and democratic prin- 
ciples, an achievement which gives us a place and a part in human 
history, for there is nothing else like it. We have a country almost 
as vast as the whole of Europe. Yet this country, by the power of 
its federal government, makes headwaj^ and keeps on its specific 
course without a standing army, without any obstructions, simply 



OF iVA SUING TON'S INAUGURATION. 205 

by the intelligence and the good sense of the people. The rest of 
the civilized world supports standing armies. The life of the 
people is drained to support them, and they stand there as enemies 
facing one another. My friends, this would have been our fate; 
we here would have formed a multitude of nations, and these 
nations would have come into conflict with one another, and, as a 
result, they would have created standing armies, would have 
brought aristocracies and privileges, and all those forces that are 
inimical to the people and a democratic rule. It was because our 
ancestors created a federal government, leaving the states inde- 
pendent, creating a higher unity in the nation; it was because of 
this that our immense prosperity, our immense increase in num- 
bers and wealth and power have come to us. 

We celebrate to-day not the inauguration of George Washington 
as President. George Washington and any other man sinks into 
utter insignificance in the presence of this day. We celebrate here 
the putting into action the Constitution of the United States, the 
organization of our federal government. George Washington had 
some share in creating this Constitution, but only a minor share. 
When this Constitution was framed there was not a statesman in 
all Europe, probably there was not a statesman in all America, who 
believed that it would work. The attempt was sneered at as vis- 
ionary. The very men who sat in the convention in Philadelphia 
accepted compromise after compromise, and finally agreed upon 
the Constitution because they were afraid to go home without 
having done something. These very men did not believe in 
the stability of their work, not one of them. It was from the 
menace of anarchy, from the menace of utter lawlessness, from the 
inability to pay the debts of the old Congress, from a thousand 
evils that were pressing upon them, that they were driven to adopt 
some experiment; and this experiment, made up of patchwork of 
different enactments, probably against every one of which there 
was a majority in the convention, th.is experiment of government 
was launched upon the world, and it has worked as though God 
Himself had given it to us. 

All the men of the South feel that it was God's mercy that kept 
them from winning in the late unhappy war. I am a Southern 
man myself, and such is my opinion, also. It was God's providence 
for the future of the human race that kept them from victory. 

We have such a power on this continent that no nation v/ill dare 
to interfere with us. 

In South America, in Central America, in North America, no 
nation will ever attempt to interfere with us; therefore we need no 



N 



206 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

army. Therefore war here is out of the question. Europe will not 
attack us, for Europe is too disunited; the European states are too 
much in dread of one another, too much threatened by the awful 
power of Russia. In all America none can harm us. We are left 
to grow and prosper. War has been the great curse of the human 
race. War has been the bane of nations and of civilization. More 
and more is the idea gaining that war is barbarous, is criminal. 

What shall we do? Certainly the American people are not 
foolish enough to think they have no problem yet to solve. Mark 
you, my brethren, in a hundred years from to-day there will cer- 
tainly be 300,000,000 of people in the present territory of the 
United States. But we are not aiming at that. If we were hogs 
we might count ourselves by the million. We are not aiming to 
become the wealthiest nation on earth; we are bound to become 
the wealthiest nation. Our wealth will make all former riches 
look like poverty. We are not aiming to give all men as much 
personal liberty as order will permit. Already we have done this. 
We must keep up this liberty. What is our aim to be? It is to 
lift up the people, to make nobler men and women, wiser men, 
more enlightened, more moral, braver and truer. We want the 
highest race here, not the most populous, not the richest, but the 
highest. What do we do with our animals ? We seek for the best 
breed of animals, and shall we not have in this country the best 
breed of men ? We want the best blood of the earth. We come 
from the very flower of the Aryan races, and we come from the 
best blood of them, from the peasant and farming populations; not 
from the scrofulous aristocrats and kings of earth. We want 
Americans to be a higher race of men than have ever existed. 

I will tell you, my friends, I myself believe that the people of 
the United States to-day are the highest people on earth. I would 
not boast at all. I would not say a word boastfully about this, but 
I have traveled in various countries, and I am old enough to observe, 
and I am convinced that there is no nation on God's earth that can 
bring forward the same number of men and women of the high 
average that we can here in the United States. Again, no other 
people in the world are so eager to make headway, to learn, make 
new inventions. We do not want to conquer any nation. The 
idea of conquest was an old, barbarous idea. We could conquer 
Canada, could not we? God knows we could take all America, 
but we don't want to do it; the American people do not want to do 
it; they have outgrown that barbarous era. 

What will we do? We will help Canada and Mexico and Cuba. 
I believe the American people look upon these countries as 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 207 

countries in which they are interested. They want to do them good. 
I was down in Cuba a few weeks ago. I found the people there 
all looking to the United States. They say: "Would to God we 
did belong to you!" In Mexico, I found the intelligent people 
delighted that the railroads had been built, that our machinery is 
coming to Mexico, that our enterprising men were going there to 
open the mines and to establish factories. We want to help them. 
Mexico is a republic. Canada will be a republic. Let them be 
federal with us. Our interests are one. Let us help them, en- 
courage them, enlighten them, stimulate them. That is our mis- 
sion. 

It is our mission, beyond doubt, gentlemen, to do good in the 
world. First of all, to begin at home here. There are children 
now living who will see Chicago with 5,000,000 of people. In a 
country like this the great danger is from ignorance, from immor- 
ality, from low-mindedness. If anything is going to do us harm it 
will be having in our cities and towns thousands of ignorant pau- 
pers, idle criminals, of low-minded men and women. We must 
work against this. 

There is practically no difference between the two parties now. 
There is the tariff and free trade, and they both lie about it. It 
really does not matter to a man of principle which party wins. 
There is bound to grow up a new party. 

It may be a slow growth. These organizations are tenacious, 
the Republican and Democratic. But one of them is bound to 
give way, and we are going to more and more identify politics 
with morality. Americans know that righteousness is life. We 
know the worldly temporal blessings of sobriety, of honesty, of 
thrift, of prudence, and economy. Now, since we are to create a 
state of affairs beneficial to all men, we are going to identify more 
and more politics and morality, because we are going to look more 
and more to men rather than to things. We are going to look 
at our machinery, our crops, and our hogs, and we are going to 
look at our men, and we are going to understand more and more 
that not only private persuasion, not only the teaching of the 
churches, but the power of political influence must also be brought 
to bear upon public morality. In fact, one great question that is 
going to be forced into politics — we can sneer at it now, but it is 
going to come — is the question of prohibition. Mark my words, 
the saloon in America has become a public nuisance. The liquor 
traffic, by meddling with politics and corrupting politics, has be- 
come a menace and a danger. 

Those who think and those who love America and those who 



208 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

love liberty are going to bring this moral question into politics 
more and more; also this question of bribery, this question of 
lobbying, this question of getting measures through state and 
national legislatures by corrupt means; they are going to take hold 
of our press, which has done so much to enlighten our people, 
which represents so much that is good in our civilization, must also 
be reformed. It must cease to pander to such an extent to the low 
and sensual appetites of man. My God, man is animal enough! 
You do not want to pander to his pruriency. You don't want to 
pander to the beast that is in him. Do not publish filth. Respect 
the people; respect the mothers and daughters and the sweet 
innocence of children. Publish that which will enlighten and 
stimulate noble aims, but leave out what is fit for brothels only. 
Our rich men are numerous, their wealth is great. Their numbers 
and their wealth will increase. But our rich men must do their 
duty or perish. I tell you in America we will not tolerate vast 
wealth in the hands of men who do nothing for the people. Rich 
men must establish universities, must create museums of art, and 
they must beautify our cities and make their wealth an instrument 
for the general good. Then they will become our leaders and 
those to whom we will point with pride. 

There also comes before us the question of education. The state 
must maintain education. It is not possible to educate the whole 
mass of people except with the help of the state. We must more 
and more discuss this question of education in an impartial mood. 
We must look at it calmly. It is not a question for fanaticism. It is 
not a question for religious bigotry. It is a question to be looked at 
with a philosophic mind. And that man is an enemy of the people, 
is not an American, is an apostate, who would view it otherwise; 
but, for God's sake, study the best methods of education. Study 
all the philosophy of education. Let us get a right and not a false 
education. Let us more and more see that the conscience is 
educated, that the whole man is educated. To be sharp of wit, to 
have a keen mind, is not to be educated. The man must be a full- 
grown individual, in mind, in conscience, in imagination. We 
must seek to educate our people to love higher pleasures, to take 
life a little more at ease; not to work themselves to death. We 
must teach our people to love education. The mass of the people 
seem afraid of high education and are talking against high schools, 
colleges and universities. My brethren it is stupid talk; it is 
unworthy of Americans. We want all men as far as possible to 
have the best and the highest training. Look at those men who 
framed the Constitution! There were fifty-five of them, and twenty- 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 209 

nine of the fifty-five were university and college men. I tell you 
we want it as an honor, as a source of wisdom; we want them as 
models of thinking, of style and of action. Let us then in God's 
name provide the highest education for those who are willing to 
take it. I, myself, am convinced that the national government 
ought to establish in Washington a national university, the 
greatest, the most richly endowed, the most thoroughly equipped 
on earth; we ought to have it. It would be a God-send for Con- 
gressmen and Senators to be near such men. 

Though we have inaugurated the era of peace through the intel- 
ligence of the people, yet there are many problems before us. 
Greatest of all problems, there is the task of raising hundreds of 
millions of the most enlightened, the most moral, the most relig- 
ious, the most helpful men and women that exist on God's earth. 
Here, in the New World, let there be a new humanity, and let 
science lead charity by the hand. Here, in the New World, let each 
man work for all and all work for each, and then a hundred years 
hence man will think less of his material achievements and more 
of his moral, religious and intellectual conquests. 



THE REV. DR. E. G. HIRSCH. 

AT FARWELL HALL. 

I wish I were eloquent to-day that I might lend words that would 
suggest the thoughts that come from the flags before me and from 
the men that fought for and bled for those flags. If I am to-day 
patriotic, who is it that breathes the air of this our free country on 
a day like this who can resist the inspiration and not be carried 
along by the current ? We of the present are at one to-day with 
those that lived a hundred years before us. Space is to-day naught. 
Ever since the earliest rays of the rising sun touched the eastern 
shore of our broad land, in the early hour of this morning, the 
bells have been ringing out, and, following the path of the sun, 
that carries all joy, has been swelling as it rolled along, from the 
East to the West, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, the one senti- 
ment of liberty. 

The sentiment which is quick within the heart of us all to-day 
obliterates all distinctions of position and of birth. He whose 
cradle stood under the protection of the Stars and Stripes feels 
that the citizen who was born in another country, and who has 
come to pledge his loyalty to our flag, is in patriotism his peer; 
that native and foreign-born citizens are twain to-day. And the 



310 CHICAGO'S CENTE.VNIAL CELEBRATION 

distinctions that actual life works — the distinctions of the acci- 
dents in life to-day — have no weight for us. The poor laborer is 
to-day under the inspiration of the sentiment that is active all over 
our land, and feels his equality with the more favored child of 
fortune. 

Where is the tongue that can do justice to the suggestions and 
inspirations of this hour? This day is like the child of the sun. 
There is no one eye that can bear the brilliancy of the king of day. 
We must dissolve the solar ray into the beauteous color of the 
rainbow before we can study its nature. And it is the brilliancy of 
the American idea which must be carved into an arch of different 
colors and different lines ere the human mind is able to grasp it in 
its full comprehension and take in the full depth of its beauty and 
the full glory of its splendor. 

Those beauteous lines all come to us, but I can examine but one 
idea which suggests itself to me as important to be considered in 
an hour so full of inspiration as this. One hundred years ago, thir- 
teen colonial states were confined to a narrow line of coast on the 
Atlantic Ocean. To-day we have bridged this Western continent. 
We have reclaimed the swamps, we have cleared the forests, we 
have builded cities. The hand that wielded the pioneer's ax was 
too stiff to thrill into music the thin harp strings, and the arm 
grown muscular by swinging the mighty hammer found the chisel 
too light to fashion into marble the beautiful ideas of the poet. 
What we needed, and what our civilization produced, was men that 
dreamed but little, philosophized but little, but who were men that 
acted, were proud to act, and eager to act. But under this intense 
life of activity there runs a golden thread of the truest idealism. It 
is not true that we are slaves to mammon as a nation. Wherever 
the American pioneer pitches his tent, there he has uplifted the 
schoolhouse and the temple. Wherever the American home is 
planted there flowers out into beauty and blossoms into perfume 
the true virtues of a pure domestic life. 

The sun has its spots; we expose our shortcomings to the gaze 
of the world. We have not yet learned the vice of national hypoc- 
risy as they have learned it and practice it in Europe. But we 
know that public exposure of our shortcomings is the surest and 
safest road to ultimate redress. 

A people's character can be measured by the men whom it wor- 
ships. We worship not those alone around whose brow the god of 
war has wreathed a laurel crown. We are indeed a nation that will 
defend to the last drop of blood its honor, and in wars for our 
defense we have challenged the world's admiration for our bravery 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 211 

and for generals that are the peers of the greatest masters of strat- 
egy whom history names. But it is not as the general alone that 
we remember Washington and Grant and Sheridan and Jackson 
and Scott. It is because " first in war," Washington was also " first 
in peace." The religion of the American people is devotion to lib- 
erty, and the realm of the empire of liberty is widened on every 
page of our national history. Our great men show the heights to 
which we may rise; and it is by these Americans — Washington and 
Adams and Jefferson and Monroe, by Lincoln, Grant and Garfield 
— that we wish to be judged, and we have a right to the judgment 
of the world. 

Great possessions entail always the duty of great performances 
and great responsibilities. If we revere the name of Washington, 
in this reverence we take upon ourselves the duty of emulating the 
example of the Father of his Country. The Constitution which he 
and those that lived and worked with him adopted, drafted, 
planned and put into practical execution, is the most conservative 
document that ever was devised for the government of nations. 
Our Constitution is conservative because it stands like a rock 
against the easily-swayed, frenzied, waving ocean of popular pas- 
sion and popular prejudice. France was a good friend to us in our 
hour of need. Next Sunday in France they will celebrate also a 
centennial day. What is the difference between American liberty 
and French liberty? America has a Constitution that is conserva- 
tive, while France, to her misfortune, never drafted a constitution 
that had this tendency, and thus when feeling runs riot in France 
but a word or a hasty syllable is all that is needed to set oft the 
powder of public passion, and then comes the explosion; then 
comes destruction; then comes disorder. 

The American Constitution is a divine commandment of liberty; 
but liberty according to the American idea is always wedded to 
law and to responsibility. And this is the sense, the beauty of this 
our celebration. We must to-day, of all years — native and adopted 
citizens — renew our oaths of allegiance to the Constitution. We 
must all of us again learn what was exemplified in the life of 
Washington — that where there is a right there is a corresponding 
responsibility. There are great burdens upon our age. There are 
great problems staring us in the face. There are dangerous shoals 
and rocks that threaten shipwreck, unless we be sturdy, faithful 
pilots and steer the ship of our national government free of the 
shoals and free of the eddies, and free of the dangerous rocks in 
the line of our national life. What our age most needs is men that 
are imbued with the principles of Washington and Jefferson, with 



aia CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

the principles, and the loyalty, and the unswerving devotion to 
duty exemplified and illustrated in the lives of those great found- 
ers, the first President and the first councillor of our beloved 
American republic. Our time calls out for men with that love of 
liberty and devotion to duty which immortalized Washington and 
his associates. We must resolve to be men as they were men. 
Then the future has no danger that we cannot meet; then the rocks 
and the shoals will be passed triumphantly, and our ship of state, 
our National Union, our national prosperity will be carried for- 
ward on the ocean of future greatness. Then those that come after 
us will say that the men of 1889 were worthy of those of 17S9. 

In the harbor of New York stands the statue of Liberty enlight- 
ening the world — a gift from our sister republic, France — a gift of 
the countrymen of Lafayette, the friend and ally of our beloved 
land. That statue of Liberty sends out the first greeting to the 
visitor from foreign shores, and speaks the voice of welcome to 
those who have escaped from the oppressing governments of the 
ancient world and come to make their home with us. That statue 
also bids godspeed to the ships that leave the great harbor of New 
York to carry our produce to the Old World. Look upon that 
statue on this day of celebration. It gives a parting salute to the 
age that closes; it brings a greeting to us that now take sail out 
on to the mighty ocean of a new century, and thus this day seems 
to me to speak most eloquently the prayer which we must realize 
through our government and which has been voiced so beautifully 
by that American poet: 

" Sail on, O ship of state! 
Sail on, O Union, strong and great! 
Humanity, vi'ith all its fears. 
With all the hopes of future years. 
Is hanging breathless on thy fate. . . . 
Our hearts, our hopes, all with thee; 
Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears, 
Our faith triumphant o'er our fears. 
Are all with thee — are all with thee." 
Long may she wave, the flag of the Stars and Stripes — the Red, 
the White, and the Blue — the emblem of liberty wedded to law, to 
responsibility and duty. May never one single star be eclipsed, 
one single stripe fail. In the night of slavery may the stars shine 
out and the golden rays of daylight, like the streamers of red, bring 
joy to all those that love liberty, and thus insure us what the white 
typifies — peace and prosperity under the benign worship of our 
constitutional, national, united life. 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 213 

THE HON. L. D. THOMAN. 

AT FARWELL HALL. 

The greatest test of excellence is success. Whatever may have 
been the doubts and misgivings of the delegates who placed the 
keystone in the arch of free government, time has demonstrated 
the wisdom of their conclusions. 

A celebration at the close of the first century of a government 
founded on a written Constitution, is an occasion which admits of 
the most extravagant demonstrations of thanksgiving. As the 
Magna Charta, the Petition of Right and the Bill of Rights have 
been styled the bulwarks of English liberty, so the Declaration 
of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitu- 
tion of the United States have been the safeguards of the Amer- 
ican Republic. The revolutionary sentiment of Independence, of 
representative and free sovereignty of the people, was given im- 
perishable expression in those documents. An idea of freedom, 
triumphant in battle, inspired the American scheme of govern- 
ment. It reflects the best thought of ages. It is simple in con- 
struction, yet novel in the minuteness of detail; expansive in its 
purposes, yet limited in its powers; charitable in its considerations, 
yet jealous of its interests. 

Constitutional government was not evolved without a struggle. 
Every word bears the evidence of patriotism. And while some of 
the delegates in that memorable convention may have been influ- 
enced, in approving or dissenting, by political motives, yet the 
result of their deliberations has been to the republic a sacred her- 
itage. Having suffered the hardships of a prescriptive govern- 
ment, they worked as patriots and not as partisans, submitting a 
method of government which made every man a sovereign, yet 
charged him with the responsibilities of aiding in the proper 
administration of free institutions. 

It is a great privilege to be a plain American citizen. It is a 
distinction greater than to be a king, prince or potentate. It is 
freedom; and, 

" Freedom has a thousand charms to show, 
That slaves howe'er contented never know." 

Who should enjoy this privilege? This is one of the important 
problems of the time which must be solved. 

The morning of the second century of our national life dawns 
with a threatening which omens danger to our free institutions 
unless met with an earnest resistance. 



314 CHICAGO'S CEATTENNTAL CELEBRATION- 

In the wonderful symmetry of our organic law popular sover- 
eignty is the omnipresent spirit, and in the most generous manner 
have the benefits of a free republic been dispensed. The obliga- 
tion demanded in full payment for these considerations is obedi- 
ence to law. It is important, therefore, that the privileges and 
benefits of American citizenship be withheld from those who do not 
know and will not learn the law. If the early years of this republic 
made it desirable to confer citizenship indiscriminately there is no 
reason for it now. The republic has passed its infancy and is now 
powerful in its manhood. The end of time alone will destroy it, unless 
the spirit of patriotism surrenders to the influence of the danger- 
ously ambitious politician. The American heart is quickly touched 
by an appeal for the distressed of other lands, but the American 
republic should no longer confer citizenship without some evidence 
that the honor is being worthily bestowed. The American Con- 
gress should have long since enacted better legislation than we 
now have upon the subject of naturalization, and it possibly would 
have done so except for its effect upon party organization. It is, 
at this hour in our history, a sad commentary on our system of 
conferring citizenship to see the candidate with an uplifted hand, 
and hear him take the oath to support a law which he never read, 
and, in many instances, never heard of. This pitiful exhibition of 
our trifling requirements to give full citizenship to an alien is 
almost forgotten when we remember that an equally ignorant 
native-born citizen is given, and is quick to enjoy, the political 
privileges of this American republic. I believe the time has come 
when no man should be granted the privileges of American citi- 
zenship, whether alien or native-born, until he has read under- 
standingly the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution 
of the United States. It may be possible to be a good American 
without reading these documents of faith, but he who does read 
them will be a better American. 

Another danger to our national life, which was anticipated by 
the convention which framed the Constitution, is the attempt to 
displace the shield — Democracy — and supplant it with the crown — 
Aristocracy. " No title of nobility shall be granted by the United 
States," says the Constitution. This is a forcible declaration. It 
shows the character of the framers of our organic law. It is a 
check upon the parvenu who is a servile to the manners and cus- 
toms of undemocratic governments. The disposition of some 
American citizens to crave distinction, by assuming the character 
of nobility, is a dangerous infraction of our organic law, and 
cannot be tolerated with safety to the permanent stability of a 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 215 

Democratic government. Our history will not be unlike the history 
of other governments, which attempted Republican form, if we 
depart from the character we assumed one hundred years ago. The 
conspicuous and enviable place which we now occupy in the eyes of 
all nations will be lost to us and we will become the mere remnant 
of a once great national independence. The success of this repub- 
lic, in its life and national prosperity, is attributable to the fact that 
we have not departed very far from the path of the simple, plain 
and earnest democracy of our fathers. There must be no titles of 
nobility. There should be no attempt toward aristocracy. The 
blood from the veins of the peasant is as rich on the altar of this 
republic, as that from the viens of the millionaire; the humble citi- 
zen from his home of poverty, who offers his tribute in support of 
the Constitution and the law, is as deserving of a seat at the feast 
of rejoicing on this festive day, as he who comes from his palace, 
the walls of which may be covered with a coat of arms. 

The greater study of the American Constitution and its powers, 
will add strength to our national life. The growing youth should 
be impressed with the importance of the preservation of this sacred 
document. Its lines and precepts, well observed, make citizen- 
ship noble. Our devotion to it is the best test of our right to be 
protected by it. It is the freeman's shield, staff and comforter. 

How persistent, how stable have been the forms of our govern- 
ment! For sixty-one years intervening between 1804 and 1865, 
not an amendment was proposed to the Constitution. Who, 
glancing down the vista of the future, can now foresee any great 
national episode which would demand additions to the present 
charter? Here is a conservatism as cautious, as hesitant and 
sluggish as that which is crudely assigned to the effete dynasties 
of other continents. 

The efficiency of the American Constitution is due to its easy 
interpretation, its close union of the coordinate branches of govern- 
ment, and its positive separation of the powers of the executive 
and legislative authorities. The line which separates the duties of 
these two branches of government is marked and should be main- 
tained. Yet there is a danger which besets us and which demands 
an earnest consideration, and that is the encroachment of the legis- 
lative branch, in attempting the control of the executive depart- 
ment in the selection of public servants. While this usurpation is 
the growth of more than half a century, yet its influences are daily 
becoming more dangerous by reason of the greater number of 
rewards to bestow. Are we in fact a free representative govern- 
ment, when the servants of the people are slaves to party politics ? 



216 CHICAGO'S CE.VTENX/AL CELEBRATION 

In the civil departments of administration, during the first forty 
years of our government's existence, not to exceed one hundred 
removals were made, except for cause, while to-day it requires 
but forty minutes to accomplish the same work, and the cause need 
be only political. Can it be said that this is an advancement in 
the science of government? The spoils system of politics is con- 
demned by the history it has made. It has attempted to break 
down the line of demarkation between the executive and legislative 
branches of our government; it has made politicians instead of 
patriots, and partisans in the place of statesmen; it has caused the 
sacrifice of manly independence and of womanly virtue, and its 
curse is written in the pages of our nation's history with the blood 
of the lamented Garfield. 

"O, that estates, degrees and offices. 
Were not derived corruptly; 
And that clear honor 
Were purchased by the merit of the wearer." 

The spoils system of politics is a most unfortunate departure 
from the ideas of administration entertained by the fathers, and 
practiced by them from Washington to Jackson. The exhibition 
of partisan zeal witnessed in some of the contests in American 
politics warns us of our danger, and unless the patriotic spirit 
which impelled our forefathers to strike for freedom asserts itself 
in support of a non-partisan subordinate civil service, our inde- 
pendence will be subverted to the base uses of political masters, 
our institutions will be corrupted, our liberty destroyed, and we 
will suffer the penalty of all governments where offices have been 
sold to the highest bidder. This problem is not insignificant. It 
affects the well-being of the nation. Official honor, national 
economy, the welfare, peace and prosperity of the people depend 
upon it. The growing youth of the land must be taught that good 
government demands pure and unselfish politics, and that merit is 
the first and best test for preferment in all employments. 

Let this anniversary be marked by pledging anew our devotion 
to constitutional government. Let the promise be kept, that 
the laws of this free republic shall not be a sealed book, but a 
living letter; not be the heritage of the rich, but the birthright of 
the poor; not be the two-edged sword of craft and oppression, but 
the staff of honesty and the shield of innocence. 



OF IVASHINGTOh'-S /yAUGUKAT/OAT. 217 

THE REV. JOHN HENRY BARROWS. 

AT THE CAVALRY ARMORY. 

This is the patriot's holy da)^ We celebrate with reverent 
rejoicing the birth of a nation in its organized life. We recall and 
revere the greatest name in modern history, which has won the 
eloquent eulogies of all mankind, a man of whom Mr. Gladstone 
has written : " He has been to me for more than forty years a 
light upon the path of life," a man in whose honor, when the news 
came of his death, the flags even of a British fleet were placed at 
half-mast, and whose monument, overtopping all other marble ever 
reared on the earth, is yet not whiter than his moral splendor. 
Surely, this is a day on which to recall the words attributed to 
Benjamin Franklin, when minister of our young republic at the 
court of France. At a great banquet which was given in Paris, the 
British Ambassador proposed the following toast: "Great Britain, 
the golden sun whose beams enlighten all the nations." He was 
followed by a French minister, who, not to be outdone, proposed the 
following: " France, the silver moon whose radiance illumines and 
cheers the darkness of the world." And then Franklin arose and 
offered this sentiment: " George Washington, the Joshua who 
commanded the sun and the moon to stand still, and they both 
obeyed him." 

There has risen on this side of the sea a national power gov- 
erned by a new sentiment, inspired by a new principle, which more 
and more checks, guides, or disturbs the nationalities of Europe. 
Samuel Adams once prophesied that America would be in a con- 
dition to give laws to the Old World. When our nation emerged 
triumphant from the recent civil conflict, a low growl of hate and 
fear passed round the council table of the kings. But that Amer- 
ica has such a commanding position to-day is due primarily to the 
fact that by the sword of Washington the tie which bound us to 
Great Britain was broken, and that under his leadership the thir- 
teen colonies were brought into a federal union. 

I know that Prof. Goldwin Smith has said that the American 
Revolution was a mistake. If we had only remained loyal to 
Great Britain, he says, we would have ultimately become self-gov- 
erning and free, like Canada and Australia! Why did he not add 
like New Zealand, South Africa, or the Bermudas? Do we not 
feel at once that these British colonies have comparatively little 
significance to mankind matched with America? But who knows 
that these distant colonies would to-day be free and self-govern- 
ing had it not been for the successful resistance of our fathers to 



218 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

the schemes of George the Third, and the maintenance of our 
independent nationality? England seems to have needed the les- 
son which we gave in order to learn how to govern her distant 
dependencies. But who does not feel that America, which repre- 
sents the " sentiment and future of mankind," that America, which 
has given to science, invention and literature such a galaxy of 
genius, and to statesmanship such names as those of Washington 
and Hamilton and Webster and Lincoln; America, the anchor and 
the pole-star of freedom, whose record is so splendid with heroes 
and martyrs, means far more to the world than such dependencies 
— however worthy and prosperous — as I have named? A recent 
ambassador to England tells us that "America is in the air,"' that 
is, that the great fact of an independent and prosperous republic 
this side the sea is continually thwarting the plans of the European 
monarchies, and stimulating the hopes of the people. America 
has had severe critics who have told us many wholesome truths 
and have offered some serious misjudgments. They have declared 
that we have no literature any more than Canada or Australia. 
But they have not thought of reproaching Canada or Australia for 
such imagined deficiencies. A nation which in one century has 
had such writers as Hamilton, Franklin, Irving, Bryant, Prescott, 
Emerson, Motley, Bancroft, Lowell, Whittier, Holmes, Hawthorne 
and Longfellow; such orators as Fisher, Ames, Clay, Webster, 
Everett, Beecher, Phillips and Sumner, may still retain some slight 
self-respect in reviewing its intellectual history. But the very fact 
that we have been so savagely criticised, and also that such elab- 
orate works as those of Bryce and De Tocqueville have been 
written about us, indicates how important is deemed the phenom- 
enon of the American republic. 

Perhaps providence is as wise as the ex-Oxford professor who 
thinks we ought to have remained a part of Great Britain. Since 
the nation is not the work of chance, since it had its origin in God, 
and like God has continuance, authority and a moral being; since 
He who has made of one blood all nations of men has determined 
the times before appointed and the bounds of their habitation, I 
cannot believe that God ever meant that this nation, rapidly becom- 
ing the foremost of peoples; that this land, "enthroned between 
her subject seas," whose unity and independence have been 
engraved by the hand of the Almighty on the courses of the rivers, 
the trend of the mountains and the coast lines; that this continent, 
which within a hundred years, as Mr. Gladstone prophecies, is to 
be the home of 500,000,000 of people, speaking the language of 
John Milton and Edmund Burke, and living under the institutions 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 319 

of Anglo-Saxon freedom, should remain the dependency even of so 
wondrous an island as that which Shakspeare saw and loved, set 
like a jewel in the silver circlet of the German Ocean, and God 
never called this nation to so commanding a destiny without requir- 
ing of all its citizens a supreme allegiance to the flag which repre- 
sents the imperial commonwealth of time. 

On the pediment of Story's noble statue of John Marshall, at 
the foot of the National Capitol at Washington, is a beautiful bas- 
relief representing Victory leading Young America to swear eternal 
fidelity to the altar of that Union which Washington founded, 
which Webster championed, and which has been cemented by the 
heart's blood of a million patriot martyrs. That sculptured alle- 
gory represents the scenes in thousands of schools and churches 
and vast assemblies throughout our land to-day, where, amid a 
forest of flags, and with hearts made jubilant with patriotic song, 
American youth are pledging their young fidelity and enthusiasm 
to that nation which was born when Washington was inaugurated. 

" Bright on the banner of lily and rose, 
Lo, the last sun of our century sets." 

And now this memorable day finds the new century blossoming 
throughout the continent with unnumbered celebrations and bril- 
liant with such exhibitions of national joy as that which gladdens 
us within these walls. 

When the Father of his Country had taken the oath of office, 
there came from the assembled multitude in New York the deaf- 
ening shout: "Long live George Washington, President of the 
United States." And to-day, if the American people could express 
in one exclamation the deepest convictions of their hearts, they 
would cry out: "God save the American Republic, which Wash- 
ington founded, and make it worthy of him who consolidated 
thirteen commonwealths into one nationality." The hundred years 
which are passed have witnessed not only the enlargement of the 
empire of liberty in other lands, not only an unexampled pros- 
perity in America, but also the most destructive civil strife that 
reddens the pages of time, in the midst of which the nation was 
threatened with disruption. With what sad memories we should 
meet to-day had that strife ended in dismemberment! Gathered 
in this throng are some of the victorious veterans of the war, and 
therefore I feel that the air we breathe is vital with brave and 
cheerful prophecies. Looking into the coffin of Garrison, his great 
friend and companion said: " He has made it certain that whether 
one flag or two floats over our soil, this continent can never again 



220 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

be trodden by a slave." Looking to-day upon these rejoicing ban- 
ners and the faces of this jubilant assembly, and seeing the forms 
of men who fought at Donelson and Vicksburg and Atlanta, let 
me express the conviction that so long as the rivers flow into the 
lakes, the oceans, and the Gulf; so long as the Alleghanies, over 
which the young Washington carried the flag of England, and the 
Rocky Mountains, on which the youthful Fremont placed the flag 
of the republic, lift their green or snowy peaks toward the stars; 
so long as civilized men tread the streets of great American cap- 
itals and a worthy yeomanry tills the Valley of the Mississippi; so 
long as there abides in our children's hearts the spirit of those men 
who, in the thick of battle, plunging into the " fire-lined jaws of 
hell," clung to the standard with a grip which only death could 
unbind, so long will one flag, the flag of Yorktown as well as Get- 
tysburg, the flag which fell at Sumter and rose again to lift with 
it a race into liberty and a nation into triumph, so long will that 
flag float over the republic's undivided and imperial domain. 

In the last twenty-five years there has been a hopeful expansion 
and deepening of our national consciousness. The attempt to 
divide our national unity developed its strength and insured its 
perpetuation. When the blow was struck in the august face of 
our American nationality, we discovered that in spite of long 
indoctrination in the error of state sovereignty, in spite of the 
eclipse which slavery had brought to many minds over the con- 
sciousness of a supreme national life, and in spite of acts of seces- 
sion, not the deliberate work of the people but the hasty work of 
desperate leaders, the nation still lived. The flag had divisions, 
but the flag was one. The Constitution was the work of the 
people of the United States, and the people was one people. The 
government under the Constitution had all the elements of uni- 
versality and supremacy, and the government was one. Hence, 
when the blow fell, the nation, slow to believe in danger, and 
proudly conscious of strength, rose like a giant startled out of 
sleep, equipped 2,000,000 of men, guarded 4,000 miles of coast line 
with battle ships, carrying on its military movements at points as 
far removed as Liverpool from Damascus and Lisbon from St, 
Petersburg, until the bubble, which Lord John Russell said had 
burst, had crystallized and shone resplendent, as what John Bright 
always believed it, the crown jewel on the brow of freedom. 

The great history which we review to-day had a great and noble 
origin. Our nationality has had many builders and rebuilders. 
Washington may be taken as the greatest type of the men who 
fashioned our national beginnings, and Abraham Lincoln as the 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 221 

leading representative of the men who solidified and expanded the 
American state. And in the development of the nation, as new 
communities have sprung into power, while civilization has rolled 
toward the sunset, the men who have helped in building the great 
fabric of Western life on the old foundations of the Christian 
church, the Cliristian school, and the Christian family, men who 
crossed the prairies as their fathers crossed the sea, upbearing the 
Bible in their van, deserve to be ranked with those ancient worthies 
who brought the institutions of political and Christian liberty to 
our shores in the seventeenth century. Reverting to that earlier 
genetic period, we find ourselves in the midst of great spiritual 
conflicts in England, Scotland, Holland, Germany, Sweden and 
France. The men who carried empires in their brains surpassing 
that of Alexander, men like Carver, Bradford, Winthrop, Hooker, 
Cotton, Davenport and Roger Williams, were largely men who 
believed themselves the agents of Divine Providence. They were 
men whose character made New England as Mr. Gladstone has 
written, "the centre of those commanding moral influences which 
gave to the country as a whole its political and moral atmosphere." 
They were men who found in the Bible the truth and inspiration 
which made them the enemies of human tyranny. 

At about the time v;hen our Constitution went into effect, a 
company of men having the same spirit with the fathers of America 
became, on the banks of the Ohio, the founders of tlie Northwest. 
Under the strong favoring aid of Washington the first great settle- 
ments were made at Marietta after the Ordinance of 17S7 — the 
second great charter of our freedom — had been passed by the Con- 
tinental Congress. Without this ordinance, as Senator Hoar has 
said, " the Constitution of the United States itself would have lost 
half of its value." And he adds that the American youth who 
visits the Capitol of his country, and "admires there the evidences 
of its grandeur and the monuments of its historic glory," will find 
there nothing which v.'ill so stir his heart as two fading and time- 
soiled papers whose characters were traced by th.e fathers a hun- 
dred years ago. They are original records of the act which devoted 
this nation forever to equality, to education, to religion and to 
liberty. One is the Declaration of Independence, and tlie other 
the Ordinance of 1787. 

The inquiry has been frequently made in recent years: "When 
was it that we became a nation?" Shall we answer by saying: 
" Not until Lee surrendered his sword to Grant at the Appomattox 
Court-house?" There, certainly, our unity was forever assured. 
But go back thirty-five years. Webster has finished his answer to 



223 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

the heresy of South Carolina, and the Senate Chamber echoes with 
the immortal words: " Liberty and the Union, now and forever, 
one and inseparable." Was it from the waters of that memorable 
debate that the American nation emerged resplendent, "like Venus 
rising from the sea?" I believe that there and then was furnished 
the ammunition back of the bullets which slew the Rebellion. But 
for more than forty years the nation has been developing under a 
Constitution which opened with the words: "We, the people of 
the United States." But was the nation born in 17S9 when it 
hailed Washington as its first President? Undoubtedly, so far as 
its present organic life is concerned. But there were elements of 
nationality anterior to the event which we this day celebrate. 
That Constitution, which has been called "the most sacred political 
document in the whole world," was the wise expression of the 
organizing will of the people back of it. The nation, weary of 
sailing the sea of democratic liberty in that leaky and perilous craft 
called the Articles of Confederation, embarked in a new and nobler 
ship, named the Constitution, built strongly with ribs of the British 
oak. The vessel was the creation of the people, and the people 
made no provision for its destruction by admitting into it any 
right of secession. To have done this "would have brought on 
board," as one has said, "a case of dynamite with a clock-work 
adjusted to explode it and blow up the ship of state within a num- 
ber of days." The preamble to the Constitution formed at Mont- 
gomery in 1861 confesses to the wisdom of our fathers by the 
words, not "we, the people," but "we the deputies of the sovereign 
and independent states." 

Nations are not manufactured suddenly and to order like cot- 
ton cloths. If this were so, they would soon be torn to rags. 
Nations are historic growths, rooted in the soil of earth and bathed 
in the dews and sunbeams of heaven. Go back of our present 
Constitution and you find the nation there, impoverished by war, 
tumultuous and discordant, but capable of emerging from chaos 
into order and power. Without a stronger government than the 
Articles of the Confederation provided, Washington said: "I do 
not see how we can long exist as a nation," thereby confessing the 
national existence. Go back to the American Revolution. It was 
directed by a Continental Congress. It was fought by a Continental 
army, led by one who never tired of speaking of "My country." 
It has been described as the act of the whole people in the endeavor 
to realize the nation. But you ask if America was not born when 
the Declaration of Independence was sent out on the Fourth of 
July, 1776. No. The Declaration announced formally one element 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 823 

of national life not even then assured. I mean independent sov- 
ereignty. But, mind you, it was a declaration, not a creation. 
It set forth or declared what already was. The consciousness of 
nationality had already in some little measure stirred the American 
heart. It made itself felt and feared eleven years before in a Con- 
tinental Congress in New York, assuming the functions of a 
sovereign and separate authority in treating with Great Britain. 
It had brought the American colonies together in denying the 
right of PIngland to inflict upon them the taxation schemes of 
George the Third. It had become intenser since the farmers of 
Concord had fired "the shot heard round the world," and the raw 
militia had fought the English on Bunker Hill. It is significant 
that, after learning that these minute men had quietly taken the 
fire of the British troops, Washington said: "The liberties of the 
country are safe." Thus the national consciousness had been 
quickened, and it found expression in the pen of Jefferson, writing, 
"When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one 
people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them 
with another." The great Declaration was signed in the name and 
by the authority of the good people of these colonies, which, united 
and not separate, assumed a distinct national existence among the 
governments of the earth. 

Do we not begin to understand what John Adams meant in 
affirming that the American Revolution was completed before the 
war began? In the colonial mind and heart, in the convictions, 
habits, aspirations and purposes of the men who occupied this ter- 
ritory, there existed the sentiment, confused but finally potential, of 
an American nationalitj'. To develop and crystalize this sentiment, 
one man, the father of the American Revolution, Samuel Adams of 
Boston, gave the toil of his life; and to construct out of the colo- 
nies, which, loosely united, had achieved their independence, one 
homogeneous and mighty nation, George Washington consecrated 
the energies of his patriotic spirit and the commanding influence of 
his unequalled character. 

Thus our celebration to-day brings us into contact with a long 
and inspiring history. It is right to say that the American nation- 
ality is a growth into whose majestic strength new forces have been 
added from time to time, and that it stands to-day, like the Cali- 
fornia pine, with a trunk broad enough to be the shade of an army, 
while it waves its top in the sunlight of God, higher than any other 
of tlie majestic growths of the past. And yet to find its germ we 
must go back of constitutions and revolutions to the Christian pur- 
poses of those men who fled from the corruptions and tyrannies of 



224 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

the Old World and battled with the savage and the soil, the winter 
and the wilderness, in the New. One student of our history traces 
the origin of our nationality to the pastor of the Pilgrims, John 
Robinson of Leyden. Bancroft found it in the cabin of the May- 
flower. Rufus Choate tracked it to Geneva. Others have followed 
it to the teachings of John Knox in Edinburgh, or the soil of Naseby 
and Marston Moore. Lowell thinks that the " red dint on Charles's 
block marked one in our era." Prof. Rogers of Oxford, believes 
that American independence was one of the glorious results of 
Holland's successful resistance to Spain. Another declares that 
we must go back to Martin Luther to find the moral force which 
made America possible. It is certain that some of the chief 
impulses which led to the colonizing of these shores and the found- 
ing and development of an independent nation sprang from the 
Word of God. It was an echo of the Scriptures which Jefferson 
sounded in the great Declaration. "We rummaged everywhere," 
he wrote, "to find the Biblical formulas of the old Puritans." One 
of the most eloquent voices that championed the Declaration on 
the floor of Congress was that of Dr. Witherspoon. " The Inde- 
pendent divines of England," says Sir James Mcintosh, "were the 
teachers of John Locke," and John Locke was the chief teacher of 
that "last of the Puritans," whose constant prayer was that Boston 
might become a Christian Sparta, the chief organizer of the Ameri- 
can Revolution, moulding the popular sentiment of which Wash- 
ington was the executive, a man who was deemed by friends and 
foes alike the pioneer of independence, whom President Garfield 
declared to have been "the greatest embodiment of the Revolu- 
tionary ideas," and whom Senator Hoar calls the greatest of Ameri- 
can statesmen in the soundness and sureness of his opinions and in 
the strength of original argument by which he persuaded the peo- 
ple to its good; I mean that half-forgotten figure, Samuel Adams. 
And every student knows with what constant and heartfelt trust 
in God the first President of the American commonwealth began, 
continued and finished his unequalled public career. 

Lord Beaconsfield has said that " America has prospered, 
because she has remembered Zion." Even Benjamin Franklin, at 
the crisis of the convention which framed the Constitution, 
declared his firm belief that without the Divine aid we shall "suc- 
ceed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel." 
To account for the American nationality, either its origin, its ideas, 
its development or its destiny, without recognizing its vital con- 
nection with the Word of God, is like attempting to account for the 
growth of the palm-tree without the sun in the heavens. All the 



OF VVA SHINC TON'S IN A UG URA TION. 225 

great formative and reformative periods of our history iiave been 
intensely religious. Even Emerson wrote: "Our helm is given up 
to a better guidance than our own. The course of events is quite 
too strong for any helmsman, and our little wherry is taken in tow 
by the ship of the Great Admiral, which knows the way and which 
has the force to draw men and states and planets to their goal." 
And surely, they who believe in a moral order administered by 
infinite love and wisdom, manifest in a nationality now so splendid 
and various, which was not planned as a warehouse or a glittering 
exchange, but rather as a temple wherein God should abide, a 
dwelling-place for the Invisible, more resplendent than "the Mount 
of Alabasta topped with golden spires" which once blazed on the 
summit of Moriah, may find their faith and expectation worthily 
expressed by the most patriotic of our poets: 
" God of our fathers, Thou who wast. 

Art, and shalt be when those eye-wise who flout 

Thy secret presence shall be lost 

In the great light that dazzles them to doubt, 

We, sprung from loins of stalwart men 

Whose strength was in their trust 

That Thou wouldst make Thy dwelling in their dust 

And walk with them a fellow-citizen, 

Who build a city of the just. 

We, who believe life's bases rest 

Beyond the probe of chemic test, 

Still, like our fathers, feel Thee near. 

Sure that, while lasts the immutable decree, • 

The land to human nature dear 

Shall not be unbeloved of Thee." 
And since our nationality has had a heavenly birth, it is right 
to expect of it a notable addition to the political, intellectual and 
moral achievements of mankind. A grim English critic once 
sneered at America by saying it had never done a greatly noble 
thing. Is there nothing greatly noble in covering a continent 
vaster than Caesar's empire with the arts of civilization? Is there 
nothing greatly noble in the colossal achievement of incorporating 
8,000,000 of foreign and somewhat alien population, unused to self- 
government, and by means of the common school and the exercise 
of liberty largely Americanizing the prodigious immigration? Is 
there nothing greatly noble in the sudden and marvelous growth 
of science, invention and literature on this side of the sea? Is there 
nothing greatly noble in the working of our National Constitution 
in times of peril, the government continuing without a jar after the 



226 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

assassination of two Presidents, events that would have shaken 
many a European throne? Is there nothing to draw out one word 
of cheerful augury in our successful encountering of such a peril 
as slavery, which England and George the Third fastened upon us; 
of such dangers as rebellion and inflated currency and a disputed 
Presidential election? Is there nothing greatly noble in a popula- 
tion delivered from the measureless misery which is the lot of 
millions in the Old World? Is there nothing greatly noble in the 
valor and self-sacrifice with which both armies contended in the 
late Civil War? Why shall not Gettysburg take rank with Mara- 
thon in the history of human liberty? Are not the waters of 
Hampton Roads, covering "the soft ooze where the Cumberland 
lies," as sacred as Athenian Salamis? I know we have many occa- 
sions for humility and for solemn concern when we think of the 
perils besetting us to-day, especially from the despotic liquor power 
and a vicious spoils system of government. But we have so many 
occasions for rejoicing and gratitude that we should not keep com- 
pany with despondency for an hour, nor with despair for an 
instant. 

It has been the teaching of our greatest statesmen that the 
maintenance and spread of religion were essential to our safety 
and prosperity. De Tocqueville said that despotism may govern 
without Faith, but liberty cannot. Ours is the only great nation 
where religion has had a fair field unencumbered by state alliances. 
A hundred years ago the Methodist Churches had only a handful 
of congregations. They now number more communicants than 
there were then people in the country. The Baptists, who were 
then mildly persecuted North and South, have to-day nearly three 
millions of members. The Congregational Churches in New Eng- 
land were not then entirely disestablished, and when their sever- 
ance from the state occurred it proved a blessing and not a curse. 
The Episcopal Church in Virginia, whose parsons were discredited 
on account of their Tory leanings, and who had become so disso- 
lute that the Legislature found it needful to pass special laws pro- 
hibiting them from drunkenness, was disestablished in 1785, and 
thenceforward, under the great leadership of Bishop Meade and 
others, the church of Madison and Washington began its better 
life, and to-day numbers more communicants than were in all the 
American churches at the opening of the century. A hundred 
years ago the Presbyterian Churches were often built with funds 
raised by means of lotteries, while drunkenness prevailed in all 
ranks among clergy and people to an almost incredible extent. 
The temperance reform is one of the brightest pages of the past 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 227 

century, and we ought to thank God that in a hundred years most 
of the liquor has gone out of the veins of the American church, 
although it must be sadly confessed the political power of the 
liquor interest was never more despotic and destructive. 

At the beginning of this century French infidelity ruled the 
educated classes of America and Christianity was thought to be 
speedily doomed. But what has been the outcome? In 1800 there 
were 350,000 church members in a population of 5,000,000, while 
to-day out of a population of 65,000,000 there are 17,000,000 church 
members, including a Roman Catholic population of 6,000,000. 
When we reflect that the numerical strength of the church has 
augmented three times as rapidly as the population, when we note 
the rise and progress of Sunday-schools which this century has wit- 
nessed, when we recall the fact that nearly all the great missionary, 
philanthropic and reformatory societies are less than a hundred 
years old, when we contemplate the vast sums that are given for 
Christian education and watch the troops of colleges, which, as Mr. 
Beecher once said, "go lowing over our Western plains like Jacob's 
kine," and as we joyfully remember that on every day seven new 
church buildings are erected on the soil covered by the national 
flag, and that on every Lord's day 10,000 new confessors of the 
Divine Man of Nazareth are enrolled beneath the standard of the 
cross, we surely have good reason for believing that Washington's 
hope expressed in his first inaugural has been realized, and that 
our people still render their dutiful homage to the Great Author of 
every public and private good. And besides all this, there has 
been a great sifting and simplifying of doctrines, a happy dying 
out of sectarian animosities, a growth of mutual love and confi- 
dence among the Christian denominations, a magnifying of like- 
nesses and minifying of differences, a decay of theological system 
building, an increased devotion to Biblical study and a growing 
willingness to combine in works of charity and reform. And 
surely these are signs of hopeful progress worthy to take rank 
with any of the marvels of invention or with the growth of our 
national area and the expansion of our national power. 

The perils already passed and the precious things already 
gained ought never to be forgotten when our eager minds are 
fastened on the new things which seem so desirable. There are but 
few blessings which the nation now covets, which are worth men- 
tioning compared with the blessings already secured; compared 
with the peace of our homes, the safety from violence, which in the 
name of law plunders a man's pocket as in Turkey, or takes his 
life, as in Russia; compared with the right to choose one's occupa- 



228 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

tion, which more than one-half our race do not yet possess; com- 
pared with liberty of travel, of speech, of worship, of assembly; 
compared with all those circumstances which in this country beck- 
on us with friendly hands and cheer us with kindly voices, and do 
not crush down our aspiring manhood, as in so many lands. 

The rights and opportunities possessed by us have been won by 
the tears and toils of sixty centuries, the best of which is just 
ended, by the labors of men of whom the world was not worthy, 
prophets, dying without the sight of the Canaan into which we have 
entered. What if Stephen, stoned at the gate of Jerusalem, could 
have seen Christianity enthroned in the Roman Empire? What if 
Athanasius, holding out alone against the world, could have seen 
modern Christendom embracing the leading nationalities, England 
carrying the Bible in every ship that wakes the "countless laughter 
of the sea," and America with church bells echoing from spire to 
spire, from the shores of hundred-harbored Maine to the soft flow- 
ing waves of the Pacific! what if Socrates, dying a martyr to in- 
tellectual liberty; what if Milton, writing his noble plea for un- 
licensed printing; what if the martyrs of Holland and Scotland, 
dying for civil freedom, could have witnessed the spectacle of a 
free state enshrining and defending a free church, which is the 
glory of our nation! What if Samuel Adams, declaiming in his 
young manhood before the royal Governor on the right of resisting 
the supreme magistrate, or Joseph Warren, closing his eyes in 
death beneath the flag of Bunker Hill, could have seen Cornvvallis 
surrendering the British army at Yorktovvn! What if Washington, 
assuming the Presidency of 4,000,000 impoverished Americans, 
could have foreseen this Continental Republic v.'ith 65,000,000 of the 
most prosperous and progressive people on the globe! What if 
Lovejoy, shot down at Alton for defending a fundamental principle 
of liberty, or Garrison, dragged through the streets of Boston 
with a halter around his neck, could then have seen the last fetter 
broken from the last American slave! What if Ellsworth, dying at 
Alexandria in the darkened dawn of the mighty struggle, could 
have seen the victorious armies of Sherman and Logan and Sheri- 
dan and Grant march over the long bridge into the streets of 
Washington, and pour their flashing columns and carry their 
tattered standards in battalions majestic as the oncoming waves of 
the sea under the eyes of an assembled nation! By a hundred 
bloody steps on 

"The world's great altar-stairs. 
That slope through darkness up to God," 
humanity has ascended to the heights on which we breathe, and 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 229 

let us not in our thanklessness and folly forget the great things 
which the Lord has done for us. This is a day for grateful mem- 
ory and triumphant hope. There are multitudes here who passed 
through the struggle, which, settling the question whether our 
nation can long endure, settled also in effect every other mighty 
moral question which confronts us. 

God grant that this golden Centennial day may deepen in all our 
hearts a reverent, hopeful and Christian patriotism, a profounder 
regard for those elements of individual and national character 
which make the just renown and lasting glory of states, or, in 
other words, a firmer devotion to the ideals which were made real 
and lustrous for all time in the inflexible rectitude, the matchless 
fortitude and Christian faith of George Washington! 

When the news came of the Whisky Rebellion in Pennsylvania 
Washington and Hamilton were resolute to put it down. There is 
a Whisky Rebellion in America to-day more desperate and danger- 
ous, and it behooves every man who has any reverence for the 
memory of Washington to lend his utmost influence to crush it. 
Let us not pile our eulogies on the grave of the Father of his 
Country and build his monument to the skies; let us not quote 
approvingly his words regarding the worship of God and reverence 
for his day; let us not point to his example as "the defender of the 
mothers and the protector of the daughters" of America and as the 
embodiment of reverence for law and justice, and then do abso- 
lutely nothing to crush the home-blasting, heaven-defying, earth- 
polluting conspiracy against our liberties and our laws which the 
greedy, grasping, corrupting liquor-conspiracy has become in our 
land. I have no doubt about the result — the saloon must go. It 
is a breeding-place of vice, a public nuisance, defiant of law, merci- 
less to its victims, a corrupter of the youth, an ally of all that is 
basest in our politics, and long before we celebrate another Cen- 
tennial it will be as much of an outlaw as is piracy to-day on the 
high seas of the world. 

And then, how can we remain content after such a celebration 
as this, with the general tone of our public life, with offices still 
the spoil of partisan success, with politicians stumbling along with 
their lanterns, taking the place of statesmen guided by the stars? 
Coming into fresh communion with the spirits of such men as 
framed our Constitution and guided our national beginnings, are 
we not touched to the quick to hear Prof. Bryce saying that the 
"true faults of American democracy are a certain commonness of 
mind, a want of elevation in the conduct of public affairs, an 
apathy among the luxurious classes with regard to public duty, a 



230 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

great laxity in the management of public business?" Are we not 
getting tired and ashamed of the despotism of the ring and the 
political boss ? Are we not sick of that system which has made 
the opening days of the present administration in Washington a 
prolonged vexation? Are we not utterly weary of permitting the 
lower class of political workers to determine who shall be our 
rulers? Says an honored American: " The people of the Northern 
States thought four years of war not too dear a price to prevent half 
their country from being taken from them. But the practices of which I 
have been speaking are slotvly filching from us the whole of our country — 
all, at least, that made it the best to live in and the easiest to die for." 

Surely, it should be the purpose of every Christian patriot to 
carry into public duty a faithfulness in some measure like his 
beneath whose peerless splendor the American people began their 
uncertain life. The resolve should be recorded on this Centennial 
day that this nation shall have not only a new birth of freedom, 
but a new birth of political decency and dignity. Then may we 
hope to see more brains and less "boodle" in the United States 
Senate, more patriotism and less partisanship in the civil service, 
more conscience and less corruption in municipal and state affairs, 
more Scriptural politics everywhere, and ultimately no saloon pol- 
itics anywhere. 

Let us resolve anew that this "land to human nature dear," 
which represents to the world the sacredness of humanity; that 
this land made holy by the tombs of the Pilgrims, by the sacrifices 
of the Revolution, by the character of our great national hero, and 
by the blood which stained the wheat-fields of Antietam, the tawny 
tide of the Rappahannock and the turbid flood of the Mississippi, 
shall rise up from the devout and thankful services of this great 
Centennial day purified, resplendent with new hope, and bathed 
with new moral glory. Let us resolve that the growing power 
which America holds among the nations shall be the growing 
power of freedom and righteousness. Let us resolve that the spirit 
of Washington and the fathers shall be carried into the moral 
struggles which await us now, that justice shall be done to the 
lowly, that safeguards shall be placed about the tempted, that 
enlightenment shall come to the ignorant, and that punishment shall 
not fail the guilty hand that strikes or desecrates the flag of 
orderly freedom for America, and of life-giving hope for mankind. 
And may God save the republic! 



OF IVA SUING TON'S INAUGURATION. 231 

THE HON. E. A. OTIS. 

AT THE CAVALRV ARMORY. 

Throughout all this broad land the American people have 
assembled to-day to commemorate the greatest event in the history 
of our nation. One hundred years ago to-day the government of 
the United States was established and George Washington, its 
first President, entered upon the discharge of the delicate and 
responsible duties of his office. VVe have been accustomed to date 
the birth of our nation from the declaration of its independence in 
1776. That event marked but one era, and was preliminary only 
to the forming of that more perfect union which we now enjoy. 
That declaration from the master hand of Jefferson announced the 
great principle that all men were created equal and endowed by 
their creator with certain inalienable rights, to the maintenance of 
which our fathers pledged their lives and fortunes; but it was only 
the first step, the beginning of that marvelous growth and devel- 
opment in free government which has since become the admiration 
of the world. 

When the war for independence was successfully accomplished 
and peace restored, the greater problems still remained to con- 
struct a system of government which should preserve for future 
generations those privileges which had been so dearly won. No 
graver question was ever presented to any nation, and upon its 
success or failure depended, in large measure, the e-xistence of free 
institutions everywhere. The old articles of confederation of the 
colonies soon proved to be a complete failure. There was neither 
power or responsibility. Instead of creating a single united people 
they were a mere association of thirteen separate states, with but 
little in common to bind them together. To the student of history 
the era from 1783, when peace was declared with Great Britain, to 
1789, when the government was inaugurated, will always appear 
the most unsatisfactory and fraught with danger to our further 
e.xistence of any in our whole career. It lacked cohesion. There 
was no central power and no means provided to enforce measures 
for common defense and general welfare. The interests of Massa- 
chusetts and Virginia were as diverse and different as the charac- 
teristics of the Puritan and the Cavalier, by whom they were first 
settled. It was fortunate for the infant republic that those distin- 
guished statesmen who had supported their country through the 
war for independence still survived to assist in preserving what 
had already been achieved. The subject of a more perfect union 
forced itself upon the attention of Washington and Adams and 



233 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

Jefferson and Hamilton and their associates very shortly after the 
War of the Revolution was ended. 

As early as 1784 Washington writes to the Governor of Vir- 
ginia: " The prospect before us is fair. I believe all things will 
come right at last, but the disinclination of the states to yield 
competent powers to Congress for the federal government will, if 
there is not a change in the system, be our downfall as a nation. 
An extension of federal powers would make us one of the most 
wealthy, happy, respectable and powerful nations that ever inhab- 
ited this terrestrial sphere. Without them we shall soon be every- 
thing which is the direct reverse." 

Similar views were shared by others, and the general feeling was 
expressed that the old articles of confederation must give way to 
a more powerful government or we would lose all that had been 
gained by the War of the Revolution. The country had been 
relieved from the direct pressure of that struggle and was now 
looking forward to material growth and development. The army 
which Washington had so long commanded had been disbanded 
and its members absorbed into the ranks of civil life. They had 
received neither pay for their services nor other suitable acknowl- 
edgment, but without a murmur, following the advice and example 
of their illustrious leader, they surrendered the power which the 
fortunes of war had placed in their hands, and, like the followers 
of Cromwell, became as distinguished in peace as they had been in 
war. It was fortunate for our country that this powerful element 
was in a position where its influence could be felt and appreciated. 
The great and controlling need was the establishment of one 
nation in the place of the many commonwealths. We required a 
government strong enough to enforce its laws and provide for its 
own preservation; free enough to protect the humblest citizen in 
all his inalienable rights. No nation was better equipped for such 
an object. The people were intelligent, trained to self-denial and 
removed from the influences of Europe; they had learned the 
lessons of self-government from the date of the earliest settlement. 
No nation was ever so well supplied with wise and patriotic 
statesmen. The men who framed our government were the peers 
of any body of legislators of which we have any record in history. 
It is perhaps sufficient to say that the result of their deliberations 
in the system of government which they founded has challenged 
the admiration of the civilized world. The Constitution which was 
then formed, with slight amendments adapted to our growing 
wants and changing circumstances, is that under which we now 
live to-day. The student of history who compares it with all other 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 233 

forms of government of which we have any knowledge, will be lost 
in wonder and admiration. Our forefathers, indeed, while they did 
not " build better than they knew," were far in advance of their 
time, and no more perfect system of popular government was ever 
created by the ingenuity of man. One hundred years ago England 
was ruled by one of its most arbitrary kings, France was still a 
monarchy, and nowhere else on the civilized globe was there a 
system of government in existence "of the people, by the people 
and for the people." 

It is almost incredible that in that era a Constitution should be 
formed which for one hundred years should require so few changes 
or amendments. In other countries systems of government have 
arisen and passed away, but ours, in all essential particulars, is 
to-day as our fathers left it. This has been the cause, in a large 
measure, of our marvelous material growth and development, which 
has no parallel in the history of the world. The entire population 
of the United States at the Revolution did not exceed in the aggre- 
gate that of the State of Illinois to-day, while the original thirteen 
states have grown to thirty-eight, with the certainty of an early 
increase in their number. We have become a nation in fact as well 
as in name, and the title of an American citizen confers dignity and 
receives a respect which the Roman citizen never enjoyed. There 
has never existed a government so powerful, and yet so free, where 
the checks and balances are so admirably adjusted, where Federal, 
State and Municipal powers worked together in such harmony, 
and where complete equality before the law is so absolutely the 
foundation and corner-stone. It is a significant fact that never 
before in the world's history has any nation attracted to itself so 
large an immigration from other countries. Every nationality in 
Europe is represented in our own city, where their labor and 
industry and prudence have largely contributed to our material 
prosperity. If this country did not offer these exceptional advan- 
tages, no such tide of immigration would possibly have reached 
our shores. 

It would be difficult to estimate the effect of our system of gov- 
ernment over the civilized world. That France is to-day a repub- 
lic, and that England itself is practically governed by its people 
instead of its queen, is owing in large measure to the results of 
free government founded by our fathers and maintained by their 
successors. For much of this we are indebted to the patriotism 
and virtue of our Revolutionary hero, but miost of all to one man, 
George Washington of Virginia, whose name will go down in 
history as a type of pure, lofty and unselfish patriotism. A 



234 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

government which he helped to establish one hundred years ago has 
since successfully withstood the strongest tests. Its powers were 
taxed to the utmost when in 1861 the effort was made to destroy it 
by secession. That doctrine, after four years of war, was settled 
forever, and it is now universally conceded that these United 
States constitute a nation strong and powerful enough to protect 
it from all enemies, foreign or domestic. That this great crisis in 
our history was safely passed is due under Divine Providence in 
large measure to the lofty patriotism and virtue of that most dis- 
tinguished son of Illinois — Abraham Lincoln. The Union was the 
great object for which he contended. He labored to preserve that 
government which Washington had founded. 

The names of Washington and Lincoln will go down side by 
side as the two great men which America has given the world's 
history. Washington founded a government and Lincoln saved it 
from destruction. Their names will ever be held in grateful 
remembrance so long as free institutions shall endure or virtue and 
patriotism be honored among men. 



THE HON. WILLIAM E. MASON. 

AT THE MEETING IN TENT B. 

I have had the great pleasure of addressing in three different 
schools to-day the children of our city, and as I looked into their 
bright young faces I was proud of my city, proud of my country, 
proud of the past and present, and hopeful, aye, certain, of the 
future I told them of one circumstance which I would like to 
repeat to you older children. The last time I visited the tomb of 
Washington, standing upon the deck of the steamer, I engaged in 
conversation with an ex-soldier, who told me the following story: 

" During the war we were stationed near here part of the time, 
and the Confederates were stationed over there, and Mount Ver- 
non was between us. I used often to visit the tomb of Washing- 
ton, and on many of those occasions I would meet some of the Rebel 
soldiers and we would sit and talk together. We always used to 
leave our arms outside of the inclosure, and not take them up again 
until after we had left the tomb of Washington." 

How pleasant it is to think that in those times of bloodshed and 
carnage there was one sacred spot where men, sons of a common 
country who were at war with one another, whether from the 
North, the South, the East, or the West, could meet as brothers 
and for a short season forget the bitterness of the strife in which 
they were engaged. 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 235 

Mistakes are the easiest things in the world to make. Our 
country has made some mistakes, and, sad as it may seem, history 
proves that there is no vicarious atonement for a political sin. On 
this great day of rejoicing it is well for us to boast of our glorious 
past, but in the spirit of humility to better prepare for the future 
should we confess the errors of the past. We boasted of the wealth 
piled up for us by the slave, but the first touch of his unsan- 
daled foot was a curse to American soil. The harmony of the 
national music was destroyed for a hundred years by the 
plaintive song of the slave. No picture could be painted of the 
genius of America in which the whipping-post and the slave-pen 
did not rear their ugly heads. We boasted of our freedom, but 
the world pointed its finger at our slaves and proved us a nation 
of liars. It was a violation of the law of nature; it was America's 
great mistake. The law of compensation demanded settlement. 
The slave-pens will not furnish fences for our cemeteries, nor the 
whipping-posts material for headboards to our graves. The pro- 
phecy of Lincoln was fulfilled. Every drop of blood drawn by the 
lash was repaid with one drawn by the sword, and every dollar 
accumulated by the unrequited toil of the slave was scattered like 
chaff before the wind to the four corners of the earth. 

The highest and most dignified office in the whole world is that 
of American citizenship, and he is best fitted for it who appreciates 
and understands the law of compensation; that no wrong, no crime 
can be committed, either against a foreign nation, the savages 
upon our frontier, or the humblest citizen, in the name of our 
country, that will not at the present or the future demand a set- 
tlement and recompense in full. The watchword of our forefathers 
was "Liberty and Self-Government." 

The chairman spoke, and I approve of all he said, of the won- 
derful progress which we have made in a hundred years. If you 
should ask me to-day, with the inspiration of the moment, what I 
thought was the surest sign of progress, I should say: Not this 
iron horse that draws its load along the iron pathway of commerce; 
not these great ships which come and go with sails belied with the 
breeze of prosperity; not the telegraph which sparkles from conti- 
nent to continent; not the telephone, whereby we speak to friends, 
who are miles away, as face to face; not the mysterious phono- 
graph which locks our words in deadly silence, and at our com- 
mand gives them forth again as from the grave. None of these are 
the surest evidence of progress. I will tell you what it is. It is 
the churches that set their steeples against the sky, the school- 
houses which dot this great country of ours, the schoolhouses 



236 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

which fill the streets of our great city and which are spread all 
over our wonderful land, teaching our children, the coming genera- 
tion, to make this country better and better every year; the insti- 
tutions of learning; the institutions of charity, wherein we shelter 
and teach the deaf, the blind, the lame, the halt and the insane. 
These, fellow-citizens, are the great evidences of a greater America 
lying yet in the future than has ever been known in the past. 

Fellow-citizens, we want more music to-day and less talking. 
Look at this wonderful past of ours. I have been something of a 
student of the history of my country and I am surprised every time 
I turn to the future; my eyes are dazzled with the prospect. There 
is no imagination, I believe, to-day that can comprehend the mag- 
nificence of what is to come. We are standing upon the great 
threshold of our beginning. Why, we are only a hundred years 
old. Did you ever stop to think that a country never grows old ? 
Did you ever stop to think that eternal youth wreathes the brow of 
that nation which is true to itself ? If we are true to our children 
who flock about us, and if they are true to their opportunities, the 
nation can never grow old. If we do justice to the coming genera- 
tion, and if they do justice to themselves, we have the spring of 
eternal youth forever within our grasp. 

But why should we speculate upon the future? I say no man 
can describe it. Did you ever in your life attempt to describe 
something that was too grand for you? Did you feel the poverty 
of human language? Did you ever think to yourself how poor 
words are to express your feelings? That is the feeling that comes 
over me when I think of the future of this wonderful country. I 
must say in the language of another: 

"Far out on the sea there are billows 
That never will break on the beach; 
And I have heard songs in the silence 
That never will float into speech; 
And I have dreamed dreams in the valley 
Too lofty for language to reach." 



THE HON. J. M. LANGSTON. 

AT BATTERY D ARMORY. 

One hundred years have passed since the fathers of our republic 
gave to the world a new form of government, one conceived, as 
Lincoln said, "in liberty, dedicated to the proposition of equal 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 237 

rights, and founded upon the consent of the governed" — "a gov- 
ernment asking nothing but what it concedes, and conceding noth- 
ing but what it demands; destructive of despotism, it is the sole 
conservator of liberty, labor and property;" reflecting and illus- 
trating in the harmony and exactness of its action, as well as its 
justness, the law of nature as it pervades the law of the land. 

The inauguration of such a government with its century of 
magnificent achievements, in the spirit always of dependence upon 
our Heavenly Father, we celebrate this day in genuine American 
sentiment, purpose and aspiration. The animating principle of 
our government, its inspiring and controlling spirit, is defined in 
the immortal words of the Declaration: "We hold these truths to 
be self-evident: that all men are created equal, and endowed by 
their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, 
liberty and the pursuit of happiness; to secure these ends govern- 
ments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from 
the consent of the governed." 

The century of our national life now closing, in all that pertains 
to our progress, wealth, power and name, the stability and glory of 
our free institutions, offers abundant, incontestable proof of the 
wisdom, the inspiration of our fathers in building our government 
upon the rock itself of political truth. The millions of our popu- 
lation of every kindred and tongue, dwelling together in peace 
and good neighborhood; the vast states and territories, each an 
immense commonwealth, which compose our Union, which may 
not and which shall not be broken; the innumerable appliances 
which constitute the irresistible physical and moral forces, which 
combined have worked out in matchless order under our Constitu- 
tion, through the government, the greatness and the glory of the 
nation, the fruits of the first hundred years of our existence, testify 
in certain, positive terms to the wisdom and divine sagacity of our 
fathers in this work. 

Our experience, under the Articles of Confederation, had taught 
us that a more perfect union was needed among the states and a 
larger measure of power in the national government; and the great 
worthies of the republic — wise, sagacious and patriotic as they 
were — showed themselves indeed equal to the task which Provi- 
dence imposed upon them. At once, guided largely by the wisdom 
of their remarkable experience, and directed even more largelj', as 
we may justly believe, by the God of nations, they framed and 
adopted our Constitution, which, in view of its blessings, shall be 
forever known and regarded as the masterpiece of all written state 
papers. What the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount 



338 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

are, to all great utterances of their kind and class, our Constitution 
is to all documents of its sort. So, too, the government which it 
defines, and for which it provides, surpasses all others in view of 
the admirable and wonderful results accomplished by and under it, 
and will outlive any at present, or ever known among men. 

Inaugurated on the 30th day of April, 1789, whether tried by 
the necessities of peace or the exigencies of war, it has proved in 
either case, in every respect, under every circumstance, equal to 
every just demand. Even when for four bloody years a Rebellion 
such as the world never before knew, marshalled the loyal hosts 
against the disloyal in solemn, terrible defense of the union of 
these states and the authority of the government, its powers and 
resources were found ample for every requirement; and upon the 
overthrow of the Rebellion it proved itself competent to the duty of 
restoring order, in peace, with every state held in its proper place 
in the Union, its authority supreme throughout the land, with 
every human being free therein and the equal of all others before 
the law. In its conception, in its aim, in the results thus far gained 
under it, in the precision and firmness with which it has defined 
and fixed the powers of the general government, our Constitution 
demonstrates and justifies the wisdom and determination of the 
people to preserve and perpetuate it as the source, through the 
agency of the government, of all our rights, privileges and immu- 
nities. 

This day's demonstration, the manifestation of admiration, love 
and veneration for the Constitution and the government, shown by 
the people of all classes and of every section, is prophetic of the 
eternity of their existence. From every heart, from every lip, in 
every voice of gladness and joy, the sentiment this day borne high 
in popular aspiration and purposes is — let our Constitution and 
Government stand forever. On a memorable occasion Daniel 
Webster, in referring to the origin of the Constitution, used these 
words: "Mr. President, I am a Northern man. I am attached to 
one of the states of the North by the ties of birth and parentage, 
education and the associations of early life, and by sincere grati- 
tude for proofs of public confidence, early bestowed, I am bound to 
another Northern state by adoption, by long residence, by all the 
chords of social and domestic life, and by an attachment and regard 
springing from her manifestation of approbation and favor which 
grapple me to her with hooks of steel. And yet, sir, with the same 
sincerity of respect, the same deep gratitude, the same reverence 
and hearty good will with which I will pay a similar tribute to 
either of these states, do I here acknowledge the commonwealth of 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 239 

Virginia to be entitled to the honor of commencing the work of 
establishing this Constitution. The honor is hers; let her enjoy it; 
let her forever wear it proudly; there is not a brighter jewel in the 
tiara that adorns her brow." But if to Virginia belongs the proud 
honor so happily ascribed to her by the great New England Sena- 
tor, were he permitted to witness this day's doings in this land, 
from North to South, from East to West, he would conclude that 
it matters little now to what state belongs the honor of originating 
the Constitution, or what special cause contributed thereto, since 
ever)^ state now vies with every other, and every loyal and faithful 
citizen with every other in devotion and fidelity to its provisions. 

Every citizen faithful and true, this day in the secret chambers 
of his own soul, makes solemn vow to his God that he will hold in 
sacred pledge to the government his life, his property and his 
honor. Nothing less pays our debt of allegiance; nothing less 
meets our solemn duty. Indeed, the loftiest aspiration of the 
American citizen can reach no point in patriotic purpose, in moral 
sublimity and beauty which realizes his true ideal but such resolve. 
Let such spirit, then, enter and possess, control and move every 
genuine heart, and, stirred by such influence as by a baptism of 
fire on this day, which may prove to be our national Pentecost, let 
us go forth to duty, sacrifice and reward. Then the second cent- 
ury of our national life under our Constitution and our govern- 
ment shall be distinguished for even greater and more important 
results than any which mark the past. Then far above all material 
progress, however great, far beyond all growth in population, ter- 
ritory and physical prowess and strength, however great these may 
be, our intellectual, moral and religious development, culture and 
power, will, under the benign influence of our improving Christian 
civilization, especially mark our progress and distinguish the com- 
ing century of our nation. The closing day, then, of our second 
century under the Constitution and the government shall find the 
nation far advanced — it may be it shall have reached the earlier 
days of the millenium of liberty, learning, labor and law — when we 
shall be even more than fellow-citizens to our neighbors — when we 
shall be brothers, indeed — while God shall be Father of us all. 

But how shall this glorious end be gained? It can only be 
accomplished as our individual and national purpose shall be con- 
tinually inspired and sustained by the good spirit to which appeal 
is made by Washington himself in the last paragraph of his first 
inaugural. His words are: 

"Having thus imparted to you my sentiments as they have 
been awakened by the occasion which brings us together, I shall 



240 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

take my present leave; but not without resorting once more to the 
benign parent of the human race in humble supplication, that since 
He has been pleased to favor the American with opportunities for 
deliberating in perfect tranquility and dispositions for deciding 
with unparalleled unanimity on a form of government for the 
security of their union and the advancement of their happiness, so 
His Divine blessing may be equally conspicuous in the enlarged 
views, the temperate consultations and the wise measures on which 
the success of this government must depend." 



THE HON. PETER HENDRICKSON. 

AT BATTERY D ARMORY. 

We Stand to-day upon the summit of the centuries; we look 
back over the past and we look forward into the future, and on 
this auspicious day v.'e would reason together and give an account 
of the faith we have in the future of the republic. Your presence 
here, the look of gladness and devotion which is pictured on the 
thousands of faces in this vast assembly, and the festal feeling with 
which the whole atmosphere of the day seems charged, bear testi- 
mony to the fact that the day is one of joy and not of grief. 

It is the conditions and the circumstances of to-day that pro- 
nounce judgment upon the century that is past, and the century 
makes us look with reverence upon the intellects and characters of 
the men who have shaped it. Reverence is the noblest activity of 
the human mind. In this reverence there is an element of fear 
which guards our minds from presumption and our lips from utter- 
ing rash speech. In this reverence there is hope v/hich gives 
buoyancy to the whole being. In this reverence there is affection, 
which is the power that moves the world and makes men invincible. 

These feelings gathered into one by the rays of light from a 
hundred years of history, and finding their focus in this day and 
this hour, we sum up in one word, Patriotism. And if this day 
has any significance any more than a mere merry-making, it is to 
find the ground and basis for this feeling of patriotic devotion and 
give it expression in grand unison of heart and voice. 

Patriotism! What is it? Is it a myth invented by some enthu- 
siast? Patriotism may be called localized philanthropy, but it is 
more than this — something that eludes definition, something that 
we are cognizant of when we sing, " I love thy rocks and rills, thy 
woods and templed hills." Patriotism is both a principle and a 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 241 

passion, harmonized and controlled by intelligence. Its founda- 
tion is knowledge, its active principle is love of man, and its scope 
is our country. Patriotism is not a plant of accidental growth; 
like all virtues it must be cultivated and nurtured to become 
strong. Of this, too, there is a spurious article as well as a genu- 
ine. There is a cultured plant and there is a weed. That patriot- 
ism which consists merely in upholding and defending your country 
and its institutions because they are yours, may have its uses, but 
it is based on false principles and degenerates into mere passion. 
The imitation is rooted in selfishness, the genuine in self-sacrifice. 
The weed is luxuriant in foliage but meager in fruitage. How to 
nurture this plant of patriotism so that it may be at once fragrant 
in the bloom and abundant in fruit should be the first aim and the 
persistent effort of the citizens who understand the responsibility 
imposed by free institutions. 

You will pardon me, I trust, Mr. Chairman, if I should have 
misapprehended the true purpose of this great national anni- 
versary. We are to-day dropping wreaths upon the graves of the 
heroes of a hundred years ago, but we are doing this not to add 
luster to their fame only; our minds are more in the present and 
the future than in the past, and what we do to-day should be a 
testimony to future generations of the sense of duty and responsi- 
bility with which we accept the inheritance of the century that is 
past, and of the solemn care with which we transmit the treasure 
into the hands of the centuries yet to come. We therefore in 
mind take the present and the future generations by the hand and 
lead them back over the hundred years that are past, and while we 
learn we would also teach a lesson from the fountain and source of 
our liberties and our laws. 

George Washington and the Federal Constitution! The two 
are inseparable. When the lips have named the one, the thought 
has embraced the other. Wherever liberty is considered a boon 
and order is thought better than anarchy, the name of Washington 
is revered and the Federal Constitution respected. Washington was 
not an angel. Washington was not a demon. George Washing- 
ton was a man. No angel has ever governed a state; no demon 
has founded a dynasty or an empire. These are the works of men, 
and in our day it has come to pass that men are judged by their 
works and not by the adulations of enthusiasts or the railleries of 
irreverent fault-finders. 

Nothing but a weak mind and a small soul can ever approach 
the character of Washington without reverence. No name or fame 
in history stands less in need of being surrounded by the halo of 



342 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

sainthood, and no character can be less harmed by the scrutiny of 
impartial criticism. No American patriot will ever be humbled by 
the necessity of drawing the veil of charity over the life or the 
record of the Father of his Country. These are facts, the contem- 
plation of which should fill our minds with humility and our hearts 
with gratitude. 

The Federal Constitution is, in the words of Gladstone, "the 
most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain 
and purpose of man." It is the greatest work of constructive 
statesmanship known to the race. The homage which is to-day 
everywhere accorded to this Constitution is not due to its age, but 
to its adaptability and power. The ideal republic of Plato is hoary 
with age; its ingenious structure has been the delight of scholars 
and poets for many centuries, but it has never commanded the 
loyalty and homage of a people. The symmetrical system of 
Locke is twice as old as our Constitution, but it has never enjoyed 
a celebration or an anniversary. These were babes born out of 
due season, founded on fancy and elaborated by the imagination. 
The progress of mankind is tentative; step by step we find our way 
through the tangles of history. No invention and no system that 
has not sprung from present needs and solved pressing difficulties 
have ever been useful to man. Washington was great because he 
filled a great place, the Constitution is great because it has solved 
a great problem. It was the product, not of speculation, but of 
experience. It is for their services that we love and cherish both 
Washington and the fundamental law of the republic. 

There is that in man which forbids his full appreciation of any 
gift unless he knows its cost. If you would inculcate the lessons 
of patriotism, if you want the citizen of the future to love the in- 
stitutions under which he lives, if you want him to appreciate the 
value and the responsibility of citizenship, you must show him 
what it has cost. You must teach him the agonies of its birth, you 
must conduct him to its cradle and show him the perils that sur- 
rounded its infancy and point out to him the calamities from which 
he has been rescued. No lesson in patriotism, no instruction in 
statesmanship can be better than a study of the history of the five 
years from the conclusion of peace to the adoption of the Federal 
Constitution. 

Never have the destinies of a great future hung more tremb- 
lingly in the balance than when that memorable assembly gathered 
at Philadelphia in the month of May, 1787, to begin the work which 
should secure a more perfect union between these states. The 
magnitude of the task and its beneficent fruits will be seen when 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 343 

we reflect that a union between these thirteen feeble states was as 
much dreaded and feared then as is disunion to-day. Massachu- 
setts and Rhode Island were as jealous of their neighbors and 
more unwilling to give up their sovereignty to a general govern- 
ment than were South Carolina or Louisiana in the days of nulli- 
fication and rebellion. 

The five years from 1783 to 1788 are the saddest and darkest in 
our history. Anything approaching to that now would be called 
anarchy, and with fear and trembling it was so recognized then. 
The Continental Congress was despised and discredited, had been 
driven out of Philadelphia by a handful of riotous soldiers whom 
neither state nor city authorities could control. There were no 
funds with which to pay the defenders of our liberties or provide 
for any common need. We were ridiculed and mocked at by all 
the powers of Europe; even France was ashamed of having aided 
us to achieve an independence which we were incapable of enjoying. 
There were men who had struggled to sever the bond which united 
them with England, who nov/ in the face of this future regretted 
their vain sacrifices and toil, and wished themselves back under the 
sheltering wings of the mother countrj-. These little states who 
had learned to sing the songs of freedom and of self-government 
were yet ignorant of the sentiment of union which to-day is the 
pride of every American and the only guaranty of the future of the 
republic. I am not drawing a fancy picture. I am not exalting 
the present at the expense of the past when I say that you can 
raise more funds for a common object in the city of Chicago to-day 
than you could in the thirteen states one hundred years ago 
yesterday. 

Now what is it that has secured to us this contrast? What is it 
that has harmonized 60,000,000 people from all quarters of the 
globe and made them one in spirit and hope under a union that is 
loved and respected by all ? It is this charter of our liberties, this 
pillar of our national temple, and this rock on which we rest — the 
Federal Constitution. And who gave us this Constitution ? I an- 
swer: it was not the people of the states, it was not the Continental 
Congress. Next after the " divinity that shapes our ends," it was 
George Washington. So much did these liberty-loving thirteen 
states fear a union, that it was not till it became known that George 
Washington was chosen delegate that many of the states would 
have anything to do with the Constitutional Convention. So great 
was the power of his fame even then that it created confidence and 
courage all over the country. Where Washington would take the 
lead it was safe to follow. Does any one say Washington was not 



244 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

a Statesman as well as a soldier? I answer: there is one element 
without which no amount of learning and genius can make a 
statesman, and that is courage and moral conviction. This it is 
which made the Constitution what it is and has kept it where it is, 
and that element in it is due to Washington more than to any other 
man. Washington presided over the convention, and his character 
was its foundation and defense. Listen to his words when dele- 
gates began to propose half measures because they feared that the 
people would accept nothing else. In that solemn and decisive 
moment he rose from his seat and pointed out the only course of 
safety. "It is too probable," he said, "that no plan we propose 
will be adopted. Perhaps another dreadful conflict is to be 
sustained. If, to please the people, we offer what we ourselves 
disapprove, how can we afterward defend our work? Let 
us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair; 
the event is in the hand of God." Is there no statesmanship in 
this ? Is there a man in this assembly who would be afraid to 
trust his destiny to a convention presided over by such a man ? 
Washington was first in peace as well as in war. This is no idle 
phrase. Let it never pass our lips unless our hearts give it its full 
meaning and our voice its due emphasis. 

But Washington, though chief, was not alone. We should do 
injustice to the memories of the past and to our sense of right if 
we did not to-day remember with gratitude the names of Benjamin 
Franklin, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, 
John Jay and the Adamses and the Pinckneys, and other immortal 
men who, both in and out of the convention, did so much to erect 
this noble structure, and prepare the minds of the people for its 
acceptance. 

But we should also do injustice to the people of these colonies if 
we did not recognize the fact that what in the outset proved the 
greatest obstacle to the Union was in the end its safety, its rock of 
defense. Intense love of self-government, rooted in experience 
and cherished by patriotic devotion, was the first characteristic of 
the people of the colonies. The obstacle which this presented was 
the fact that each man's patriotism was centered in his own state, 
his loyalty wholly absorbed by his own local government. An 
unseen, unlocalized and indefinable union presented no image to 
them but that of a foreign tyrant. The great work of the Consti- 
tution was to create a new centre for this strong affection and 
transfer it from the government of the colonies to the government 
of the Union. It was to enlarge the mind and expand the affec- 
tion. To create the conviction that my colony was not my country. 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 245 

but only a part of it. It was to get the inhabitant of Massachu- 
setts, of Delaware, of Virginia, to rise to the grand conception that 
his Fatherland was not a colony, but a continent. That he was 
not first and foremost a Virginian or a New Yorker, but an Ameri- 
can. That the colonies had fled from common troubles, had sought 
a common refuge and had freed themselves from a common oppres- 
sor in order to gather under the tegis of a common government 
and become not many small but one great empire. How grand 
was this thought and how all-important was the change! 

And here, too, let us remember that the great power which 
alone could make such transformation was the fame and name of 
Washington. As the presiding genius of the convention he created 
confidence. As the first head of the new government, as the com- 
mon centre of the new and larger Fatherland, he drew the hearts 
of the people from the old allegiance to the new. Here let us 
behold the greatest work ever performed by mortal man, here let 
us realize the true significance of this solemn day, and humbly 
uncover our heads in the presence of the sublime spirit and char- 
acter of Washington, which even to-day presides over the destiny of 
the republic. 

But while the Federal Constitution is the central pillar of this 
noble temple whose first century of life terminates to-day, there are 
other forces without whose support it may be doubted whether the 
structure would have withstood the storms. It was the vastness 
of the territory which made it so difficult for the colonies to con- 
ceive of the Union in the sense in which it presents itself to our 
view. The Constitution could not unite and harmonize material 
interests so different and so diverse. Without a material bond to 
unite and hold them together the unity of mere law would be 
inefficient. This material bond was at this moment in the throes 
of birth. At the very time when the Constitutional Convention 
was seated at Philadelphia, the first steamer was launched on the 
Delaware River. The Federal Constitution and the steam engine 
are the great twin products of Anglo-Saxon intelligence and enter- 
prise. It may well be doubted whether either, without the aid of 
the other, would be active forces in Chicago to-day. The Con- 
stitution was born in the nick of time. The planets were in the 
right conjunction, and the twins were born under the star of 
hope. If it were not for the steam engine you and I might not be 
here, and wherever we might be and whatever we might be doing 
we should not be celebrating the adoption of the Constitution. It 
was by this marvelous coincidence that the bond of law was sup- 
plemented by a bond of intercourse to which we are indebted for 
what we are to-day. 



246 CHICAGO'S CENTKhhXIAL CELEBRATION 

But there is a third pillar in the structure, without which polit- 
ical and material bonds would be torn asunder. That pillar is the 
public school. I would not say one word here that on this day of 
harmony and common joy should arouse any prejudice or the 
slightest murmur of dissent, but I should do violence to my most 
settled conviction if I did not say that the public school, a common 
education for the young, under the same teachers, on the same 
benches and in the same classes for all children and youth, not of 
the laborers only, but of rich and poor, the native and the foreign, 
of all creeds and of all colors, is as essential, is as vital to the sta- 
bility of this nation and to the lasting happiness of the people as 
the Constitution and the steam engine combined. It was possible 
to unite the colonies into one because they were young and pliable 
and devoted to a common teacher and master. It will only be pos- 
sible to melt so diverse a population together into common love 
and devotion to the same institutions by accustoming them to live 
and play and act together without prejudice and distinction in the 
tender years of childhood and youth. These are the gifts of the 
century that is gone, and these are the pillars of the Union and the 
guaranty of fraternal friendship through centuries to come. The 
Constitution will change in the course of the future as it has 
changed in the past, for it is not a dead carcass or a fossil, but a 
living law, and this change will be a growth, not in the direction 
of curtailing popular government, but of expanding it; not by tak- 
ing power from the people, but by giving larger power to the peo- 
ple. But remember this, that larger power will never be safe in the 
hands of the people without a large intelligence and a common 
intelligence, and this intelligence for all without distinction and 
without exception. 

There are weak and ignorant men who even to-day affect to 
believe that this Constitution is an experiment, and the perpetuity 
of the Union an unsolved problem. Let them not desecrate the 
sacred precincts of the second century of our national existence 
with this malady of doubt. Has not this Constitution and this 
Union borne its test? Has it not grown strong by adversity? Has 
it not conquered not only the arms, but the hearts of doubters and 
foes? 

Classic fable tells us that when Hercules was born he, too, 
inherited the hate of the divinity of doubt and opposition. When 
the infant giant lay in his cradle the malignant goddess sent two 
serpents to press their deadly venom into the breast of the sleeping 
infant. But the infant was not asleep. He stretched forth his 
right hand and his left, and in his giant clutches he choked the 



OF VVASHIMGTON'S hVAVGURATION. 247 

vile reptiles in the dust and returned to placid repose. So has the 
Constitution triumphed over the divinity of hate. Her reptiles 
came to his infant cradle. The black serpent of slaver)^ on the one 
hand and the green serpent of disunion on the other, and the 
youthful giant arose and in one hand he seized the black serpent 
and in the other the green serpent, and he bruised their heads 
against the rock, and buried their vile bodies in the dust forever. 
Is there any one here that doubts? 

And this Constitution is ours and in joyous echo I hear the 
word "ours" coming from every state, from every county, from 
every hamlet and from every fireside to-day in this goodly land. 
It fills the American heart everywhere from Maine to the farthest 
point of Florida, and from the Golden Gate to the Atlantic, and in 
every breast there is forgiveness, fraternity and affection. If this 
Constitution has .borne the strain of the century that is past, may 
we not to-day, in joyful assurance, hand it down to the centuries 
that are to come and bid them guard it with the same jealous care 
and the same intelligent devotion which has attended it in the past? 
We have faith that the future will not be found wanting. Wash- 
ington was a hopeful man, for he was sound and healthy in body 
and mind. The Constitution was born of this hope, and v/ith faith 
it is handed down to the future. We know full well that the whole 
brood of hateful serpents is not dead. The divinity of discord is 
still sending forth her progeny to perplex the children of men. 
Some of them are even now pointing their venomous fangs at the 
young state and its Constitution. We can see their slimy heads in 
the grass. There is the serpent of corruption and fraud, the ser- 
pents of spoil and plunder, the serpent of monopoly, the serpent of 
sectional jealousies, the serpent of anarchy, the serpent of strife 
between the rich and the poor, and, more than all, the old serpent 
with its hundred heads and its thousand fangs, the snake that 
destroys the heart and the conscience and the home, the old dragon 
of strong drink. We are not blind to their dangers, but we stand 
here calm in the faith that the same giant will stretch forth his 
hand and one by one crush their heads under his heel, and when 
the next great centennial of this day shall dawn the joyful shouts 
will rise from the lips of hundreds of millions: "We have per- 
formed the task which you set us one hundred years ago." 



248 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

THE HON. CARTER H. HARRISON. 

AT THE " OVERFLOW MEETING " IN DEARBORN PARK. 

It has generally been accepted as a fact that on the 4th day of 
July, 1776, at Independence Hall, in Philadelphia, a nation was 
born. This is not a historical truth. On that memorable day 
freedom had its birth — that freedom which seems to have been 
conceived on this continent, which was brought forth when 
Thomas Jefferson, in the immortal Declaration of Independence, 
declared that "all men were born free and equal" — a declaration 
up to that moment unheard and unuttered since history had begun. 
This solemn assertion was signed by men who knew that the wage 
of battle was by them thrown down, which was to give to the 
signers the right to live as freemen or the penalty of dying as 
traitors. 

Freedom, that day born, was afterward, during a long war 
which tried men's souls, again and again on many a battle-field 
baptized in blood. After nearly eight years of privations, such as 
only earnest patriots would have endured, the world acknowledged 
the United States of America independent. These states felt them- 
selves each sovereign and independent and bound together only by 
a solemn, but yet voluntary agreement, severable at the will of 
each or of any of them. It was soon found that this bond was but 
a rope of sand which had not and could not create a nation. The 
men who fought for freedom and independence saw that their 
labors and privations were likely to prove to have been done and 
suffered in vain. A demand went up from the wiser people of the 
several states for something more enduring than a mere severable 
agreement. This demand was uttered continuously by the one 
man, who all Americans agreed had been singled out by Provi- 
dence as the Father of his Country. His earnest warnings were 
heard and heeded and in September, 1787, a convention over which 
he presided framed the Constitution of the United States. This 
Constitution was not immediately ratified by the states, but a 
majority finally agreeing to it, on this day one hundred years ago, 
the nation which had been lying in embryo was vivified at New 
York — the nation which is to-day the grandest and really the most 
powerful the world ever knew, for it is a nation of sovereigns, 
each sovereign in his individual freedom, and each ready to sup- 
port the integrity of his country. On that day, whose Centennial 
we celebrate, the nation was fixed and baptized, and its machinery 
put in motion with George Washington at its head. 

Fellow-citizens — Our immortal first President, in his address 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 249 

when taking the helm of the Ship of State, solemnly and rever- 
ently asked the blessing upon his country of the Almighty God. 
Following his lofty example, let us, too, ask the favors of the same 
ever-living God to bless the country, now that it commemorates 
the birth of our nation. 



PROF. A. C. GEYER. 

AT THE DEARBORN PARK "OVERFLOW MEETING." 

A striking and most interesting part of the open-air meet- 
ing was the eloquent speech by Prof. A. C. Geyer of Indiana. 
His subject was "The Test of a Century of National Life," 
in which he vigorously and eloquently followed our political 
development from the time that the great purposes of the 
fathers were embodied in the Federal Constitution to the pres- 
ent, when those purposes are an accomplished fact, and when 
our mighty and grand country stands before the world as the 
only perfect embodiment of regulated and law-ordered liberty. 
The fathers had made the moral sentiment of the whole peo- 
ple the foundation on which the superstructure was reared, and 
had intrusted government to the hearts of the governed. On 
this continent was established the complete reversal of theories 
and policies which had hitherto been in the ascendency. 
Instead of centralizing power and making special grants of 
political sway; instead of making a mighty standing army, 
wielded by a monarch's will, the defense of government, 
American statesmen had given birth to a government in 
which the people are the only source of supreme power, and 
whose fortress of defense is the people's devotion. A century 
of political vicissitude had demonstrated the triumph of these 
principles. The American people had published to the world 
by their achievements a confirmation of their character and 
strength. They had verified their capability of self-government 
and their worthiness of liberty. They had proved that power 
can exist silently and potently in the hearts of the people, 
ready to be called into exercise at the moment of command, etc. 

It is impossible to do justice to the speech without printing it 
in full, and no stenographer was present to take it. It was 



350 CHICAGO'S CENTE.KNIAL CELEBRATION. 

patriotic, vigorous and eloquent to the end, and in spite of the 
cold atmosphere in which it was deHvered the speaker held his 
vast audience as in a spell, and now and then evoked storms of 
applause. No halting, no wearying, but a continuous, easy and 
rapid flow of genuine eloquence and beauty of thought and 
language, and a fearlessness and force of utterance which drive 
conviction to the heart. 



THE BANQUET 



THE BANQUET 



The events of the day concluded with a banquet at the Union 
League Club, at which the gentlemen who had come from other 
cities to assist in the celebration were the guests of the evening. 
About two hundred representative citizens participated. The 
Hon. Walter O. Gresham presided. 

For two hours the guests lingered over the feast. Then 
cigars were lighted, glasses replenished and the rest of the even- 
ing given to toasts and responses. 



"WASHINGTON AND THE CONSTITUTION." 

BY THE HON. JOHN .M. HARLAN. 

" I am glad I am in Chicago," said Justice Harlan as a pref- 
ace to his response. " I like to be in Chicago and whenever I 
get away from Chicago I want to get back. The country is 
beginning to appreciate Chicago. When the last administration 
was hunting for a Chief Justice of the United States Supreme 
Court, it had to come to Chicago to find him. When the present 
administration wanted a Minister Plenipotentiary and Ambas- 
sador Extraordinary to Great Britain it came to Chicago to get 
him. And it is not improbable — you cannot tell what a nation 
will do — that soon enough they will come to Chicago for a man 
to occupy the White House." Complimenting the city thus and 
bowing to Judge Gresham, Justice Harlan, amid cheers, began 
the following address: 

It is the concurring judgment of political thinkers that no 
event in all the history of the Anglo-Saxon race has been more 
far-reaching in its consequences than the organization of the pres- 
ent government of the United States. And at this Centennial cele- 
bration of that event it is in every sense appropriate to connect the 



354 CHICAGO'S CENTE.V.V/AL CELEBRATION 

name of Washington with the Constitution which brought that 
government into existence. It is appropriate because his splendid 
leadership of the Revolutionary armies made it possible to estab- 
lish upon this continent a government resting upon the consent of 
the governed, yet strong enough to maintain its existence and 
authority whenever assailed. But it is especially appropriate for 
the reason that he was among the first of the great men of the 
Revolutionary period to discern the inherent defects in the arti- 
cles of confederation; and but for his efforts to bring about a more 
perfect union of the people, the existing Constitution, it is believed, 
would not have been accepted by the requisite number of states. 
He was, indeed, the pioneer of the union established by that 
Constitution. Of the accuracy of these statements there is 
abundant evidence. 

As early as the 4th of March, 1783, in a letter addressed to Gov. 
Harrison of Virginia, he expressed the opinion, based upon his 
observation during the war and his intercourse with the people of 
the states, that if the powers of Congress were not made competent 
to all general purposes the blood that had been spilt, the expense 
incurred and the distress felt would avail nothing, and the bond 
which held the country together, already too weak, would soon be 
broken, when anarchy and confusion would prevail. It is a fact, 
not without some interest, that the Revolutionary patriot to whom 
that letter was addressed was the great-grandfather of our honored 
fellow-citizen now holding the exalted position of President of the 
United States. In the same month in which Washington communi- 
cated these views to the Governor of Virginia, he wrote to Hamil- 
ton: " My wish to see the union of the states established upon 
liberal and permanent principles, and inclination to contribute my 
mite in pointing out the defects of the present Constitution, are 
equally great. All my private letters have teemed with these senti- 
ments, and whenever this topic has been the subject of conversa- 
tion I have endeavored to diffuse and enforce them." To Lafay- 
ette, who never lost his interest in the people whose liberties he 
aided to secure, he said that "to form a new Constitution that will 
give consistency, stability and dignity to the Union and sufficient 
]50wers to the great council of the nation for general purposes is a 
duty incumbent upon every man who wishes well to his country." 
In the same year, as the time approached to surrender his authority 
as Commander-in-Chief of the army, he addressed a circular letter 
to the Governors of the states declaring that "according to the 
system of policy the states shall adopt at this moment, it is to be 
decided whether the Revolution must ultimately be considered as 



Ol- WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 256 

a blessing or a curse; a blessing or a curse, not to the present age 
alone, for with our fate will the destiny of unborn millions be 
involved." He, therefore, expressed the deep conviction that "an 
indissoluble union of the states under one Federal head" was essen- 
tial to "the existence of the United States as an independent 
power"; that it was "indispensable to the happiness of the indi- 
vidual states that there should be lodged somewhere a supreme 
power to regulate and govern the general concerns of the confed- 
erated republic, without which the Union cannot be of long dura- 
tion"; and that "it is only in our united character as an empire 
that our independence is acknowledged, that our power can be 
regarded, or our credit supported among foreign nations." 

Shortly after this magnificent letter was issued and when about 
to disband the army he had led to victor)', he addressed these 
words of farewell to his comrades: "Although the General has so 
frequently given it as his opinion in the most public and explicit 
manner, that unless the principles of the federal government 
were properly supported and the powers of the Union increased, 
the honor, dignity and justice of the nation would be lost forever, 
yet he cannot help leaving it as his last injunction to every officer 
and every soldier who may view the subject in the same serious 
light to add his best endeavors, with those of his worthy fellow- 
citizens, toward effecting those great and valuable purposes on 
which our existence as a nation so materially depends." Thus did 
the great commander sheathe his sword. Under the influence of 
the purest patriotism the soldier expanded into the statesman. 
With a foresight and breadth of vision that was extraordinary he 
saw that upon the recognition of our independence by the mother 
country the crisis in the struggle for republican institutions was 
only beginning, and so his purpose was to send forth every soldier 
in his army as an apostle of constitutional government. And what 
he said to the army was repeated in letters to the molders of 
public opinion. To John Jay he wrote that we could not long 
exist as a nation "without having lodged somewhere a power 
which will pervade the whole Union in as energetic a manner as the 
authority of the state governments extends over the several states." 
To Madison: "Thirteen sovereignties pulling against each other, 
and all tugging at the federal head, will soon bring ruin on the 
whole." 

Entertaining these views, Washington entered the convention 
of 1787, which Jefferson described as "an assembly of demigods." 
It does not appear from the record of those times that he partici- 
pated to any extent in the discussions of that remarkable assembly. 



256 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

I say remarkable, because, in the recent words of the foremost 
Englishman of this generation, " the statesmen of the American 
Revolution have taken their place once for all amongst the greatest 
political instructors of the world." But such was the grandeur and 
nobility of his nature, so entirely free was he from mere partisan- 
ship, so awful was the reverence for his character, that Washing- 
ton's influence upon the deliberations of the convention was far 
greater than that exercised by any other delegate. From the 
beginning of the struggle between the advocates of a more perfect 
union and those who dreaded, or professed to dread, any diminu- 
tion whatever of the powers of the states, he deemed it " impracti- 
cable, in the federal government of these states, to secure all rights 
of independent sovereignty to each, and yet provide for the wel- 
fare and safety of all." And that was the general view by which 
the convention was guided. Indeed, it is not too much to say that 
every vital principle of the Constitution, as originally adopted, was 
in harmony with the views he had avowed and urged upon the 
leading statesmen of the country for years before the convention 
met. But when its work was submitted to the people of the 
states, it became apparent that the enemies of a national govern- 
ment, such as was to be created by that Constitution, were neither 
few in number nor insignificant in ability and influence. To the 
grief of Washington it was disclosed that many statesmen, who 
were conspicuous in the struggle for independence, were opposed 
to the adoption of the proposed Constitution; some, in the mis- 
taken belief that it would altogether subvert the authority of the 
states; others, because it did not contain a bill of rights, recog- 
nizing the fundamental principles of life, liberty and property that 
were brought by our ancestors from the mother country. But the 
soul of Washington was undaunted. Conscious that the people 
were looking to him for counsel and guidance, he proved himself 
equal to the perilous crisis through which the country was then 
passing. From his quiet home at Mount Vernon he conducted a 
campaign in behalf of the proposed Constitution that was as 
important and effective as the victories he had won upon the 
battle fields of the Revolution. He felt, what all now believe to be 
true, that upon the result of that agitation depended the consoli- 
dation of the Union, and, in all human probability, the fate of 
republican government upon this continent. To Patrick Henry he 
transmitted a copy of the Constitution, confessing that while it 
did not contain all that he desired, its adoption was of the last 
consequence. " From a variety of concurring events," he wrote, " it 
appears to me that the political concerns of this country are in a 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 357 

manner suspended by a thread," and that if nothing had been agreed 
upon by the convention, "anarchy would soon have ensued, the seeds 
being deeply sowed in every soil." To Edmund Randolph he 
declared that the proposed Constitution "or a dissolution of the 
Union, awaits our choice, and is the only alternative before us." To 
Lafayette he wrote: "There is no alternative, no hope of altera- 
tion, no immediate resting place, between the adoption of this Con- 
stitution and a recurrence to an unqualified state of anarchy, with 
all its deplorable consequences." Such was the language he 
employed in personal interviews and in an extended correspond- 
ence with the leaders of thought in all the states. His efforts to 
rally the people in behalf of the Constitution, which was to trans- 
form the helpless confederation into a strong and permanent 
union, were crowned with success, and although he took no part in 
the Federal debates, and wrote nothing like the masterly papers in 
the Federalist, the country acknowledged him as the real leader in 
the struggle for constitutional government. "His influence," said 
Monroe to Jefferson, "carried this government." "Were it not for 
one great character," said Grayson, "so many men would not be 
for this government." Over all the discussions in the states as to 
the adoption of the Constitution, says the historian Bancroft, there 
hovered " the idea that Washington was to lead the country safely 
along the untrodden path." Many who thought that the Constitu- 
tion should contain a bill of rights, advocated its acceptance in the 
expectation, which was fulfilled, that he would be the first Presi- 
dent, and that, under his administration of the government, all the 
necessary guarantees of life, liberty and property would be secured 
by amendment of the fundamental law. This silent soldier, so 
modest yet so masterful, was, in truth, the keystone of the combi- 
nation of patriots; and, as we look from this distance, we can but 
feel that if he had died at that juncture the strong, symmetrical 
arch of the Union would never have been erected. 

I have preferred, Mr. President, upon an occasion like this, to 
give these proofs of the patriotism and wisdom of Washington, 
rather than employ any terms of general eulogy. It is stated in 
his diary that the evening of the day when the convention of 1787 
concluded its labors, he retired at an early hour "to meditate on 
the momentous work which had been executed " — an eloquent 
picture of himself, unconsciously drawn for us with his own hand. 
We may well believe that the deep, calm nature of this man of 
" massive mold " was profoundly stirred when, at the close of that 
memorable day, he looked forward into the future and attempted 
to forecast the destiny of his beloved country under the form of 



868 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

government proposed for its adoption. If the work of that day 
appeared to him to be momentous in its character and in its prob- 
able results, how much more so does it appear to us, at the close 
of the first century of our constitutional existence, as we look back 
over the wonderful history of this nation? We are only in the 
spring-time of our national life, and yet we have realized all that 
Washington could possibly have anticipated from the creation of 
the present government. What more could be desired in a system 
of government than is secured in the existing organizations of the 
general and state governments with their respective powers so 
admirably adjusted and distributed as to draw from Gladstone the 
remark that the American Constitution was "the most wonderful 
work ever struck off at one time by the brain and purpose of man?" 
Despite the fears of many patriotic statesmen, at the time of the 
adoption of the Constitution, that that instrument would destroy 
the liberties of the people, every genuine American rejoices, in the 
fullness of a grateful heart, that we have a government under 
which the humblest person in our midst has a feeling of safety and 
repose not vouchsafed to the citizen or subject of any other country; 
with powers ample for the protection of the life of the nation and 
adequate for all purposes of a general nature, yet so restricted by the 
law of its creation in the exercise of its powers that it cannot right- 
fully intrench upon those reserved to the states or to the people. 
I will not here allude to or discuss particular theories of constitu- 
tional construction. But I may say, and I am glad that it can be 
truthfully said, that the mass of the people concur in holding that 
only by maintaining the just powers of both the national and state 
governments can we preserve, in their integrity, the fundamental 
principles of American liberty. But while renewing this day our 
allegiance to the Constitution of Washington, let us not, my coun- 
trymen, forget that the liberty for which our fathers fought is lib- 
erty secured and regulated by law, not the liberty of mere license. 
There is no place in our American system for the unrestrained 
freedom that respects not the essential rights of life, liberty and 
property, but regards a government of law as inimical to the rights 
of man. The true American, whether native or naturalized, stands 
under all circumstances for the law and for the rights of his fellow- 
men as recognized and defined by law. Those who hold otherwise 
are enemies of our free institutions, and should be treated as such. 
These observations are not inappropriate to this occasion. They 
find some warrant in our history and in the actual circumstances 
of some portions of the country. This country opens wide its 
doors for the reception of honest, industrious immigrants who 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 259 

desire to enjoy the blessings of our institutions, and who assimi- 
late with our people. But we cannot close our eyes to the fact 
that foreign governments are throwing upon our shores and crowd- 
ing our great cities with vast hordes of men who have no proper 
conception of the philosophy or spirit of American liberty. Recent 
investigations under the authority of Congress show the coming to 
our land in startling numbers of worthless characters gathered 
from the highways and by-ways of other countries, as well as crim- 
inals from foreign jails and penitentiaries, all of whom will in 
time be invested with the privilege, at the ballot box, of sharing in 
the control not only of states but of the nation. In view of these 
facts thoughtful, patriotic citizens, native and naturalized, may 
well ask whether the safety of our government and the integrity 
of our civilization are nc)t seriously menaced by the presence here 
of so many that place no value upon the inestimable right of suf- 
frage and have little sympathy with, or knowledge of, our institu- 
tions. We can perform no better service to our country than to 
see to it that the right to shape its destiny shall not be bestowed 
upon those who are unworthy of it. Let us raise our voices in 
favor of such further enactments, constitutional and statutory, as 
may be necessary to guard our American civilization and keep this 
country for all time under American control. 



"JAMES MADISON." 

BY BISHOP SPALDING OF PEORIA. 
After the applause elicited by Justice Harlan's speech had 
died away, Judge Gresham introduced Bishop Spalding, who 
responded to the toast, " James Madison." He spoke briefly 
but pointedly, and his words were well received. He said: 

The debt which we owe to the framers of the Constitution is 
greater than it is easy for us or any man to realize. The day the 
Declaration of Independence was made was our great day, but the 
Constitution saved it from becoming dangerous. The Federal Con- 
stitution saved the work of Washington from being in vain. The 
names of our greatest benefactors are frequently unknown. James 
Madison is not fully appreciated. It was a small thing in his life 
that he was President of the United States. That was his failure. 
His life was greater. He was the father of the Federal Constitu- 
tion. Modest and retiring, he was nevertheless the type of a true 
man. He owed his education entirely to himself. Though not in 



260 CHICAGO'S CENTEXNIAL CELEBRATION 

any sense a genius he was endowed with that common sense which 
is of more use to man than genius. We should not give credit to 
Madison or Washington for what we possess. But deep adversity 
taught our American fathers what they could not have learned 
from their own resources. The colonies were not thirteen inde- 
pendent governments, but independent states, having no joint being. 
The Federal Congress had no supremacy or powers over the 
states, and riots and disturbances were bringing the states into dis- 
repute and threatening discord and destruction. 

It was James Madison who first introduced a motion in the 
Legislature in Virginia for a convention to regulate commerce on 
the rivers, first between Virginia and Maryland, then the other 
colonies were taken in, and so the plan grew. Madison was at the 
bottom of all this. 

The Federal Congress falling more and more into disrepute, 
the Constitutional Convention was finally called. It was called on 
the Virginia plan, as suggested by Madison. It was his idea that 
the people and not the states should be represented in the Con- 
gress. The present Congress represents the individual American 
citizens. That was Madison's idea. It is from James Madison 
that we know the history of the Constitutional Convention. 
Washington was not an orator or a leader of an assembly of men. 
Hamilton was an aristocrat and wanted a constitutional monarchy. 
Madison was the soul of the convention. New York did not vote 
for Washington, although they celebrate him to-day. The religious 
liberty guaranteed by the Constitution is one of the most import- 
tant accomplishments of it and is producing the best men and 
women. 

Perhaps it was unfortunate that a compromise was made with 
slavery. It is true our fathers had not the faintest idea of 
such a nation as we have to-day. They were Massachusetts men, 
Virginia men, and so on. They are not to blame. We are all 
the creatures of circumstances. No statesman in Europe but who 
thought the Federal Constitution would be a failure. Not one 
of the signers believed the Federal Constitution would work. 

We owe everything to the Federal Constitution. It has made 
us to-day the most united and best organized and strongest 
nation on the earth. Madison had the largest conception of things. 
He was an abolitionist. He did not believe in slavery. He said 
the contest would not be between the big states and the little states 
but between the slave-holders and their opponents. Madison, who 
failed as a President, forced us into a war because he did not 
know anything about war. He Vv'as a man of peace. Me was a 



OF WASHIXGTOX'S INAUGURATION. 261 

thorough American in that. We do not believe in the mediaeval 
ideas of conquest, of annexing Canada or anything like it. 

The European powers will see that their only salvation is to 
dismiss their armies and look to a federal arrangement like ours to 
settle their differences. We have abolished the duel; we have 
abolished private warfare — we will abolish public warfare. 
Utopian at present, gentlemen, but it will come. 

James Madison believed in this. I propose to you James 
Madison. 



"THOMAS JEFFERSON." 

BY THE HON. L. D. THOMAN. 
Mr. L. D. Thoman responded in the same succinct and 
happy way to the toast on "Thomas Jefferson." Following is his 
address: 

It is not only a privilege but rather a duty to eulogize the deeds 
and preserve the memories of those who either in peace or war 
have conferred benefits or lustre on their country. It inspires 
ambitions to emulate their example. The American youth is 
strengthened in his love for popular government by learning well 
the sacrifices required to obtain it. The human mind is so consti- 
tuted that it is not only interested, it is aroused and stimulated, by 
lofty ideas of excellence. A conception of what has been done is 
an important factor in achieving eminence in any profession or any 
enterprise. 

Few characters in the history of governments and their adminis- 
tration command more attention than Thomas Jefferson. His 
extraordinary abilities, his devotion to the cause of liberty and his 
unbounded faith in the intelligence, character and strength of the 
people for self-government, make him one of the most conspicuous 
characters in history. 

Jefferson was a republican in the broadest sense of the term as 
applied to citizenship. I believe that his untiring devotion to the 
cause of a plain and simple interpretation of the Constitution gives 
to us the privilege of celebrating the looth anniversary of the inau- 
guration of the first President of the United States. One hundred 
years of an undisturbed popular government and free sovereignty! 
What a reflection! 

Public men of merit in all times have been the subjects of 
severe criticism; but whatever else may be said of him, all must 
admit that Thomas Jefferson was devoted to the cause of liberty. 



262 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

It would be supererogation to review his whole life to justify 
this assertion. One reference will sufifice. In the administration 
of public affairs he followed clearly the policy defined in his first 
inaugural address, a state paper which for simplicity, fullness and 
force has never been equaled in political literature. He dealt with 
public questions in the interest of good administration. He was a 
party man, but not a partisan. He was a politician, and yet he did 
not permit his politics to dwarf his patriotism or to w^arp his judg- 
ment. The criticism that Jefferson was a Virginian and not a 
Nationalist is not justified by the history of his public life. He 
was jealous of his achievements; and when a majority of his coun- 
trymen rallied to his standard and became the advocates of his 
beliefs he called this organization his party. It must be conceded 
that his abilities as an organizer were masterly when we consider 
that he was able to marshal the forces and succeed in the victory 
of iSoi, when Hamilton, Marshall, Henry, Ames, the Lees, the 
Adamses, Otis, Livingston, the Pinckneys and Luther Martin were 
the leaders of the opposition. 

It is but fair to say that the first twelve years of government 
under the Constitution were years of experiments. Officers were 
naturally timid in their assertion of prerogatives, while yet intensely 
jealous of right and reputation. Keen, observant and politic, Jef- 
ferson easily saw their mistakes and knew the necessity for their 
correction. It is not, therefore, strangely wonderful that an imme- 
diate change in the administrative affairs occurred upon his inau- 
guration. The policy announced by him met with popular favor; 
the man and the hour had arrived for the interpretation of the 
principles of the free Constitution in accordance with the designs 
of its framers; and such an interpretation was given to its provis- 
ions as at once aroused the approval, the admiration and the patri- 
otic ardor of the people. 

In giving shape to our politics the Jeffersonian age also gave 
direction to our intellectual and material progress by an impetus 
v/hich will be felt and acknowledged through all time. Our Con- 
stitution to him was the law of the land. 

The responsibility for the preservation of this corner-stone of 
civil liberty is upon us. To discharge the duties of citizenship in a 
conscientious manner is our highest duty. As Cxsar was stimu- 
lated in his passion for military glory by seeing the statue of Alex- 
ander the Great; as the Athenian youth drew inspiration for patri- 
otic devotion from the cold marble statutes of Solon, the law-giver; 
Conon, the Admiral; Pericles, the mightiest of their statesmen, and 
Demosthenes, the prince of their orators, so we will be inspired to 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 863 

more fervent patriotic duty by a closer study of the greatness of 
the fathers who gave us this heritage. We may be Republicans, 
or we may be Democrats, but when it comes to supporting the 
Constitution, Liberty and the Union, we should know no party. 



"JOHN MARSHALL." 

BY THE HON. ROBERT T. LINCOLN. 

" John Marshall " was the next toast proposed, and the Hon. 
Robert T. Lincoln responded. Said he: 

In a commemoration like this, in which the first thought of all 
is the contrast between our country now and as it was a century 
ago, it is impossible that time can be given to notice many of 
the causes which have made its greatness or to speak of many of 
the men whose names stand out in the pages of its history as hav- 
ing been the leaders, or, perhaps I should say, the representatives 
of the popular sentiments which have been the impulses of our 
national progress. In making a choice among the names of our 
great citizens of those who are to be the subject of special encom- 
ium on an occasion like this, when only a few of those worthy of it 
can possibly receive it, the choice will most naturally fall on some 
of those who have conducted the affairs of the nation in its chief 
office, and among them almost inevitably the thrill of admiration 
is most excited in every patriotic breast by the memory of those 
who have done their country service by leading its armies to glori- 
ous victories. But I am asked to speak of one who had just 
reached his full manhood when the Declaration of Independence 
was proclaimed, whose military service was hcmorable but short, 
and nothing but that of a subaltern; of one who not only was 
never President, but who, save for a few months, never held an 
administrative public oflice. While he was a man who omitted no 
occasion to impress on his fellow-citizens, with unsurpassed logic 
and earnestness, what he thought was best for their common wel- 
fare, and at times consented to serve in the Legislature of his state 
and once in Congress, so that he might be enabled to act as well as 
to counsel, he was primarily a lawyer and again and again refused 
public offices of honor which would have taken him from his pro- 
fessional work. At last, however, there came to him a summons 
which withdrew him forever from his private pursuits, but which 
he could not refuse to obey. 



364 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

The Department of Public Service to which he was called by 
President Adams, and for which he seems to have been specially 
created by Divine Providence, is in our republic and was peculiarly 
so in its young days of the most transcendent importance. If his 
duties had not been done as they were it is easy to believe that so 
far as our nationality is concerned we could not be enjoying as we 
now do the full fruits of Washington's generalship and civil admin- 
istration and of the work of the framers of our Constitution. 

He was made the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the 
United States — a court which had come into existence only twelve 
years before, with powers at the first view so extraordinary that 
those not familiar with our complex system of government can 
hardly be made to understand the possibility of the co-existence of 
Congress and the court. In England, from which we mainly derive 
our legal system, there is no written constitution, and there is, 
since the disuse of the royal veto, hardly an imaginable restriction 
upon the power of Parliament in making laws for the kingdom, and 
the highest court can do no more than interpret and then enforce 
any of its statutes. If the judicial interpretation is unsatisfactory 
to Parliament it is promptly met by a new enactment. Educated 
and trained in a busy legal life of a quarter of a century in the tra- 
ditions of centuries of the absolute supremacy of the ordinary Leg- 
islature, the professional mind even of Marshall must have had a 
struggle before he came to realize fully that it was the foremost of 
the duties of himself and his judicial associates to apply a standard 
of validity to the enactments of the national Legislature and the 
Legislatures of all the states, and not to shrink from declaring any 
one of them a nullity if in the opinion of the court, in a case prop- 
erly brought before them, it failed to keep within the limitations 
of that wonderful and novel instrument, the written Constitution 
of the United States. 

It has often been said that no other court with such powers was 
ever created before or since — that no other court could in any case 
nullify the supreme legislative will of a nation as well as that of the 
sovereign states composing it. The fallacy of such a statement 
lies, of course, in ignoring the fact that the supreme legislative will 
of our nation is embodied, not in the acts of the Congress, but in 
the Constitution adopted by the whole people, by >vhich the Con- 
gress was itself created and its powers defined and limited; and in 
ignoring the other fact that all attributes of sovereignty inconsist- 
tent with the provisions of the Constitution were voluntarily sur- 
rendered to the nation by each state as it entered the Union — so 
that in fact when the Supreme Court declares an act of Congress 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 365 

invalid — as being contrary to the Constitution — it is only interpret- 
ing the supreme law and enforcing conformity in the inferior, just 
as is done by a state court when it declares a municipal ordinance 
unwarranted by the general law under which the municipality is 
created. 

All this, after years of national education, seems simple enough, 
but when Marshall assumed his seat if it was clear to his great 
intellect it was not to a large part of the people. A few years 
before the jurisdiction of the court had been sustained in a suit 
brought by a citizen against the State of Georgia, and, with much 
excitement, there was at once adopted the eleventh amendment to 
the Constitution, preventing for the future any suit by any indi- 
vidual against a state. The jealousies of the states toward the 
national government, which had made the formation of the Union 
so difficult, were thoroughly aroused, and it must have been with 
great anxiety as to the future that Marshall entered upon the 
grave duties which he was to perform for nearly thirty-five years. 
But his judicial genius, his legal ability and training, and the work 
he had done in urging the adoption of the Constitution, made him 
thoroughly fitted for the work before him. When all his judicial 
laborers are considered he is alone to be ranked with the great 
Lord Mansfield; but on this occasion we can only advert to that 
fundamental characteristic of his which guided his legal genius in 
settling, in many diverse cases, the absolute supremacy of the 
national government in those things committed to it by the people 
through the Constitution, and made him well called its Great 
Expounder. 

In his own state the conflict between those who wished the 
establishment of a national government with such strength as to 
avoid the evils of the frail Confederation, and those who wished to 
retain undiminished the principle of sovereignty for each of the 
states was so ardent that it lasted for years, and at the end the 
Constitution was adopted by the Virginia Convention by a majority 
of only ten votes, and then not until after it had been adopted by nine 
out of the other twelve states. In procuring this result Marshall was 
the ablest supporter of Madison, to whom the chief glory must be 
given. In his work he was inspired by an ardent longing to have 
a country greater than his native state. He wrote of himself that 
in the army, when he found himself associated with brave men 
from different states hazarding their all in a precious common 
cause, he was confirmed in the habit of considering America as his 
country and Congress as his government. For him the adoption 
of the Constitution — the creation of the United States as a nation — 



2G6 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

was the highest public good. His devotion to tlie national gov- 
ernment so created was at the foundation of all his public acts, and 
over and over again did he sway the vast power of his court to the 
preservation of its sovereignty. In deciding the case of Cohens 
against the State of Virginia, when the state denied the power of 
the court to review the decision of a state court against a right 
claimed under an act of Congress, he said: 

"If it could be doubted whether from its nature the Constitu- 
tion were not supreme in all cases where it is empowered to act, 
that doubt would be removed by the declaration that 'this Consti- 
tution and the laws of the United States which shall be made in 
pursuance thereof, and all treaties made or which shall be made 
under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law 
of the land; and the Judges in every state shall be bound thereby, 
anything in the Constitution or laws of any state to the contrary 
notwithstanding.' 

"This is the authoritative language of the American people; 
and, if the gentlemen please, of the American states. It marks 
with lines too strong to be mistaken the characteristic distinction 
between the government of the Union and those of the states. The 
general government, though limited as to its objects, is supreme 
with respect to those objects. This principle is a part of the Con- 
stitution; and if there be any who deny its necessity none can deny 
its authority. 

"To this supreme government ample powers are confided; and 
if it were possible to doubt the great purposes for which they were 
so confided, the people of the United States have declared that they 
are given 'in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, 
insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, pro- 
mote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to 
themselves and their posterity.' '' 

This was but one of his many decisions, but in this language is 
the cardinal rule which guided him in doing his part to establish 
our nation as a sovereign power. In this he never faltered, and 
in this, even were it his only claim to the veneration of posterity, 
he is a noble and never to be forgotten example to all Americans. 



OF WASH/NGJON'S INAUGURATION. 867 

"BENJAMIN FRANKLIN." 

BY THE HON. C. C. .\U5KRTSON. 

The toast, "Benjamin Franklin," called forth the following 
speech from the Hon. C. C. Albcrtson: 

Somewhere between the covers of a peculiar book, which some 
of us are simple enough to believe is the revelation of the Infinite 
F"ather to His children (jn earth, I have read the words: "There 
were giants in the earth in those days." Though referring pri- 
marily to the epoch when the race was in the cradle of its infancy, 
there has never been an age since the first-born century took up 
the reins of Time and started on the track of Eternity concerning 
which its historians cannot truthfully say: "There were giants in 
the earth in those days." Mr. Chairman, I have been to some 
extent a student of history — ancient, medi;eval and modern — and 
I have never yet read the record of any era in any land or under 
any sky of which it could be more appropriately said than of the 
Revolutionary period in our history: " There were giants in the 
earth in those days." 

Benjamin Franklin was a colossal character. He was not so by 
reason of the paucity of great men in the age in which he lived. 
Some men may appear great on account of the smallness of their 
associates. It doesn't take an extraordinary man to seem a giant 
among pigmies. Franklin was a giant among giants. He had his 
birth in an heroic age — an age which saw a Patrick Henry, a 
Jefferson, a Jay, a Morris, a Pinckney, an Adams, a Madison, a 
Washington — yet the brilliance of their fame dims not the lustre 
of his glory. He lived and moved within a circle of illustrious 
men whose names we honor, and whose memories, though their 
ashes have long since mingled with the soil, and though their lips 
have long since taken the sacrament of the dust — whose memories 
are still as green as the foliage that buds in the spring time. 
Some of them were statesmen, some were orators, some diplomat- 
ists, some philosophers — all patriots and heroes; yet among them 
Benjamin Franklin made his mark and stood with unsurpassed 
distinction. Mr. Chairman, some characters are like the sunlight 
and air in this respect. They belong to the world at large, and not 
to any one party, nation, or age, or time. Think you that any par- 
ticular party can claim such names as Cicero or Pericles or Charles 
Martel orMirabeau or Washington or Madison or Lincoln or Grant? 
They are the property of the world. Think you that any particu- 
lar sect or creed can claim such names as St. Paul or St. Augustine 



268 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

or Hildebrand or Savonarola or Fenelon or Luther or Lovejoy or 
Beecher? They belong to the church catholic — the communion 
universal. 

I have the pleasure, sirs, to night to respond to a name that 
belongs to the "parliament of nations, the federation of the world." 
We delight to honor the heroes of our history. Whether they 
won their laurels in the pulpit righting the wrongs, lightening 
the yoke, and brightening the skies of earth by the proclamation 
of eternal truth, within legislative halls enacting wise and beneficial 
laws for the government of citizens, or in the temple of justice 
defending the liberty of individuals or communities, or in the 
Courts of foreign powers demanding recognition as an independ- 
ent nation, or in the laboratory of science solving the mysteries 
and translating the hidden language of nature, or on the 
battlefield to the sound of martial melody vanquishing with 
swords and bullets the country's foes, their deeds are immortal 
and their lives become atoms in the slowly rising but imperish- 
able monument of a land redeemed and happy. 

Benjamin Franklin is such a man. So long as Columbia has 
a place among the nations of the earth, so long as philosophy 
has a temple among men, to use another's words: "So long as 
human tongues anywhere plead, or human hearts anywhere pant 
for liberty, those tongues shall prolong and those hearts enshrine 
the memory of Franklin." In the darkest days of our colonial 
history, when the twilight shadows lingered along our seacoast, 
and across our mountains and our valleys, so that our fathers' 
prayers swung like a pendulum between alternate hope and fear, 
hopes that the twilight was the gray mist of the sunrise, fear 
lest the shadows were those of the evening sunset, here was a 
man who dared predict, yea, confidently foretold at home and 
in the palaces of kings across the sea, that the twilight was 
the breaking of the day, the dawning of the morning. And 
when the morning came, and for the first time in the ages the 
eyes of men saw the light, and the ears of men were banqueted 
with the songs of unfettered freedom, there was not one who 
could more justly claim a share in the victory than he whose 
name I present to night. 

Sir, I yield to no man in my appreciation of the worth of the 
character of Washington, "triumphant on the field, illustrious in 
council and dignified in the chair of state," but I would remind you 
that he was born of parents well-to-do and able to afford their son 
the benefits of education and good companionship. Here is a man 
whose parentage was humble and obscure. Cradled in poverty, 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 269 

battling with starvation, walking the streets of Philadelphia on a 
cold October day, his only roof the sky above him, his only raiment 
what he carried with him, his only food a dinner of dry bread, his 
only wealth a Dutch dollar and a shilling's worth of coppers, his 
only friends a good constitution and a healthy conscience. Yet 
step by step he trod with lion heart the path of penury. Stage by 
stage he mounted up until he took his place among the kings of 
history— kings uncrowned and stainless, but kings as true as ever 
wielded sceptre over submissive millions. A king by virtue, not of 
earth, but of worth; not of what he wore upon his head nor over 
his breast, but by virtue of what was within his head and under 
his breast. In this brief time cannot be told his efforts in estab- 
lishing the postoffice system, of which he was for years the chief; 
his influence in establishing the public press, which presaged the 
popular education of the masses; his value as the author of pre- 
cepts calculated to develop and foster honesty, industry and econ- 
omy; his views in natural philosophy, in which he reached up into 
the cloud-land and brought down the lightning and tamed it for 
our future use in correspondence, locomotion and illumination; his 
labors as a liberal and refined humanitarian, and leader and presi- 
dent of laudable and well organized societies designed to alleviate 
the miseries of public prisons and to promote the abolition of negro 
slavery; his practical philanthropy, which is continued until this 
day in well directed channels by which worthy young laboring 
men in Boston who need financial aid are assisted; his power in 
constitutional conventions, giving greater energy to the govern- 
ment of the Union by revising and amending the articles of confed- 
eration; his skillful diplomacy at the Court of France by which 
that nation reinforced our arms and recognized us as an indepen- 
dent government; his influence at the English Court by the aid of 
which at length even that reluctant king acknowledged our gov- 
ernmental sovereignty; his long career without reproach or stain 
as an example and incentive to the aspiring youth in after years; 
the nobility of his character in which he added to the lofty endow- 
ments of the mind the kinder affections. 

There is only time to remember these without dilating upon 
them, but I will say that among all the Revolutionary heroes whose 
genius has defended and whose lives have adorned that period of 
our nation's history, you cannot point to one whose intellect was 
brighter, whose patriotism was purer, whose acts were more poten- 
tial than those of him to whose memory I pay this tribute of 
respect. He was a scholar without being a pedant, a specialist 
without being a hobbyist, a statesman without being an office- 



370 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

seeker, a patriot without being a politician. A many-sided man, a 
man whose character was like the city which the angel measured 
with a golden rod, its length and breadth and height equal. Grate- 
ful to his God, for he was not an infidel, faithful to his country, 
and fraternal to his fellow-man he lived, and at the age of eighty- 
four, in the land he loved so well, he fell to sleep. " Peace to his 
ashes; green grow the grass above his grave." A beautiful epitaph 
is his: 

" The Body 
of 
Benjamin Franklin, 
Printer, 
Like the Cover of an Old Book, 
Its Contents Torn, 
Stripped of Its Leaves and Guilding, Lies Here the Food for 
Worms. Yet the Work Itself Shall Not Be Lost, for It 
Will (as he believed) Appear Once More in a 
New and More Beautiful Edition Con- 
nected and Amended 
by 
The Author." 

I propose, sir, as a toast, the immortal memory of Poor Richard. 



"ALEXANDER HAMILTON." 

BY THE HON. J. S. RUNNELLS. 

The Hon. J. S. Runnclls was heartily cheered for his response 
to the toast "Alexander Hamilton." He said: 

It is not alone because a President was inaugurated a hundred 
years ago that this day is memorable. It is not alone because a 
century has passed since Washington took the oath of office that 
the hands of labor are at rest and the streets are filled with music. 
If there were no other significance to the day than the beginning 
of an administration — even that of the Father of his Country — we 
could fill the measure of its importance with much less of emotion, 
much less of gratitude, than inspires our hearts to-day. 

It is a memorable day because it marks the commencement of 
the operation of constitutional government in this country. It is a 
fitting time, surrounded as we are by the blessings that govern- 
ment has conferred, to recall with reverent gratitude the services 
of its founders. We have not, like the Hebrews of old, the feasts 



OF IVA SUING TON'S INAUGURATION. 271 

of commemoration upon which they recalled the mighty deeds of 
their fathers in the conquest of the Promised land. We have not, 
like the pious Mohammedans, the annual pilgrimages to the holy 
city in commemoration of the triumphs of the prophet. We have 
not, like the Romans, the feast days or the mythology in which to 
deify the great who by valor or by wisdom have deserved well 
of the republic. Our festivals are the days when our hearts are 
led back by some recurring anniversary to the times when inde- 
pendence was won, when liberty protected by law was established, 
or when the Union was preserved. Our national temple is filled 
with the presence of those who at Bunker Hill and Yorktovvn, in 
Congress and convention, by sword and by debate, wrought out for 
us and those who are to come after us a form of government which 
has been fittingly described as the "embodied wisdom of ages." 

In this great work Alexander Hamilton bore a most prominent 
part. Save of Washington alone, I think it may be said of him as 
it could be said of none other of the great galaxy of statesmen of 
his period, that he was indispensable to the work. I know of no 
other man's part in that work for whom Providence had not pro- 
vided some possible substitute who could have performed it. 
I know of no other man who could have performed the work that 
was done by Hamilton. In that mighty exigency liis mission was 
as personal and peculiar as was that of Peter the Hermit, who 
avowed he was ordered of heaven to awake a slumbering world 
from infidelity. In his boyhood he roused a public meeting to 
patriotic fervor where men of mature years had failed. At a time 
when college youths are struggling with their Homer he was stir- 
ring the community with essays upon the science of government. 
At an age when young men are usually receiving the honors of 
graduation, he was the trusted aid of the great commander and 
conducting desperate enterprises. At a time when men are usually 
trying their first case at the bar, or just embarking upon business 
life, he had led the forces upon the redoubt at Yorktown and writ- 
ten the farewell address. At an age when men are just laying the 
foundations of their success he was Secretary of the Treasury, had 
founded the financial policy of the country, established the public 
credit, created a party which under various names has survived a 
hundred years, and established the prosperity of his country upon 
firm foundations. 

I look in vain for a parallel to his career. I know that history 
is replete with examp!"'" f men like Alexander, like Hannibal, like 
Charles XII., who achieved fame in their youth. I recall the his- 
tory of William Pitt, who was Prime Minister at twenty-four, and 



273 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

died of a broken heart at forty-seven upon hearing of Austerlitz; 
but I know of no one in the whole range of history who at a simi- 
lar age could compare with him in the variety of his powers and 
the extent of his achievements. He lived in a generation of master 
minds. Washington, Jefferson, Adams and Jay were his compeers 
at home. Pitt and Fox and Burke and Grattan were his contem- 
poraries in England. Mirabeau and Napoleon and Carnot and 
Talleyrand were making the history of France. Hardenbergh and 
Stein and William von Humboldt were the leaders of thought in 
Germany. It was an age of genius, of great deeds, of master 
minds. Yet Talleyrand — whose heart never clouded his judgment 
— said, after reviewing all the famous men of his time, that Napo- 
leon and Charles James Fox were Hamilton's only intellectual 
equals. 

The Constitution of the United States is his monument. 
Whatever he claimed for the other great minds who assisted in 
its formation, whatever he conceded to those who labored for 
its adoption, to him belongs the greatest praise, both for its 
conception and its establishment as the organic law. It was his 
hand that laid its foundation deep in the soil of order and 
strength, and it was his understanding that, conceding much 
of his preference to accomplish the purpose of National unity, 
reared its shapely architecture; it was his powerful reasoning 
in the Federalist and his eloquent utterances in convention 
that crowned the stately edifice with the approval of the people. 
Said Guizot: "There is not in the Constitution of the United 
States an element of order, of force, or of duration which 
Hamilton has not powerfully contributed to introduce into it 
and to give it predominance." 

The task presented to Hamilton might well have appalled 
him. A meaner soul would have sought refuge from the diffi- 
culty in the delights of home and profession. A lesser mind 
would have laid it down in despair. But conscious of a power 
which a great Frenchman said enabled him to "divine things,'' 
and instinct with a purpose as clear to him as the face of the 
Madonna was to Raphael, he proceeded to establish the finances 
of his country upon immutable principles. Webster's words 
were not mere panegyric when he said: "He smote the rock 
of natural resources and abundant streams of revenue gushed 
forth; he touched the dead corpse of the public credit and it 
sprung upon its feet. " He came to a treasury with neither money 
nor credit; he provided the one and established the other. He 
found the Government without means for its own sustenance; 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 273 

he devised a sound system of national revenue. He found it 
without a currency; he established a mint, provided a coinage, 
and founded a national bank. 

Pause for a moment to consider the magnitude of the work he 
accomplished. 

The problem of the government in 1789 was one of ways and 
means. The surrender at Yorktown had left the colonies in com- 
plete exhaustion. The Confederation had not restored their 
strength, while it had shocked to the verge of paralysis the con- 
fidence upon which prosperity depended. The victorious colonists, 
triumphant over the mother country, were impatient of restraint 
and reluctant to assume Federal burdens. The lesson of the sur- 
render of local power was one hard to be learned. Dreams of 
Athenian democracy were everywhere rife. The catch-vi'ords of 
liberty, equality, fraternity, were virafted from over the seas. The 
talk of the Paris clubs was reechoed upon the hillsides of New 
Hampshire and upon the plantations of the Carolinas. Jealousy of 
the rights of states, so fruitful of later disaster, thus early stood by 
the cradle of the nation. The individual ambitions of smaller men, 
which had been gratified by prominence in the states and colonies, 
would now be checked or denied by the establishment of the cen- 
tral power. The leaders of the smaller communities would appear 
with diminished perspective upon the larger arena of national life. 

Brougham says it was the boast of Augustus that he found 
Rome of brick and left it of marble. What might have been the 
boast of Hamilton ? He could have said that he found his adopted 
country had achieved her independence only to be discordant, 
impoverished and threatened with dismemberment; he could have 
said that for more than a decade, with voice, with pen, with unceas- 
ing labor, with all the strength and all the garnered treasures of 
his matchless intellect he strove, to use his own words, "to justify 
and preserve the confidence of the friends of good government; to 
promote the respectability of the American name; to answer the 
calls of justice; to restore landed property to its due value; to fur- 
nish new resources to agriculture and commerce; to cement more 
closely the union of the states; to establish order upon the basis of 
an upright and liberal policy;" and, finally, he could have said that 
his great object was accomplished, and that he had so stamped his 
purposes upon the policy of the nation as to unite order with lib- 
erty, thus creating that "union of felicities" which makes states 
immortal. He could have said that he had forced upon a hesitat- 
ing, reluctant people that interpretation of the Constitution by 



374 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

which he could foresee, in the language of Carlyle, "an immeasur- 
able future filled with fruitfulness and a vernal shade." 

"Whoso can speak well," said Martin Luther, "is a man." Ham- 
ilton's oratory placed him among the foremost of men. "Two- 
thirds of the convention are against me," he wrote of the New 
York Convention elected to determine the momentous question of 
the adoption or rejection of the Constitution. With the same 
courage with which he led the attack upon the redoubt at Yorktown 
he plunged into the unequal conflict. Day after day, rejoicing like 
a strong man to run a race, he plied the majority with argument 
from his well equipped storehouse. Assaulting, defending, thrust- 
ing, parrying, now appealing to the fears of his adversaries with 
pictures of the perils of anarchy — now regaling them with bright 
visions of the results of stable government— appealing to history — 
citing precedent — meeting invective with reason and abuse with 
courtesy, he at last heard the leader of the opposition confess that 
he had been converted by Hamilton's arguments. The vote was 
taken, New York was enrolled among the adopting states, and the 
great fight for the Constitution was over. 

When some future Plutarch shall weigh the great men of that 
epoch he will give to Washington alone the palm of superiority 
over him. He will make John Adams his only possible rival as an 
orator, but even him he will place upon a lower plane. He will go 
across the seas to find in Burke alone the sharer of his sceptre. He 
will say that Hamilton was greater than Burke because he was 
lawyer and soldier as well as orator and statesman. He will say 
he was greater than Pitt because it is worthier to create a govern- 
ment than to administer it. He will say he was larger than Adams 
or Jefferson, great as they were, because his victories were not, like 
theirs, limited to the fields of statesmanship. Jefferson called him 
the Colossus of the Federalists. Ambrose Spencer, the distin- 
guished jurist and a political adversary, said he "was the greatest 
man this country ever produced." Chancellor Kent said he "rose 
to the loftiest heights of professional eminence," and applied to him 
the praise of Papinian, that he left all others far behind. John 
Marshall placed him next in merit to the Father of his Country. 
Another contemporary declared, voicing the admiration of many 
of the time, that "he more than any man did the thinking of the 
time." 

A hundred years hence others may meet as we meet to-night to 
celebrate this anniversary. The great names which command our 
reverent homage will not be dimmed by another century of national 
life. The Revolution, the Constitution, the Union will be watch- 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 275 

words no less inspiring then than now. Lexington and Bunker 
Hill, Saratoga and Yorktown will have the power to thrill them as 
now. Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Grant will be as fondly 
remembered upon that occasion as on this. In the memories of 
that hour I believe no name will be recalled with more grateful 
pride, more fervent admiration, more reverent praise than that of 
the mighty genius whose light was quenched, all too soon in the 
fatal glade of Weehawken. The coming years will only make 
brighter the fame and higher the appreciation of the lawyer, 
soldier, orator, statesman, patriot — Alexander Hamilton. 



"ABRAHAM LINCOLN." 

BY THE HON. JOHN M. LANGSTON. 
By a very liappy choice the toast on "Abraham Lincoln," the 
freer of the black man from bondage, was responded to by the 
famous colored orator, the Hon. John M. Langston. He said : 

Our country has produced at least three great men. Each is 
himself. Each bears his distinct individuality, as each seems, 
under providence, to have been appointed to a special national 
mission. One shall ever be regarded as the Father of the Countr3^ 
He gave us national independence, sovereignty, and position 
among the great powers of the earth. The other met with 
tongue and pen and deeds — manly and heroic deeds — and alas! his 
sacred life, the false, vulgar, treacherous public sentiment favor- 
able to slavery, its spread under the guise of squatter sovereignty 
and the slave oligarchy — the full power which to accomplish its 
selfish ends would even disrupt the Union and destroy the govern- 
ment. 

Lincoln shall ever be accounted our national emancipator; and 
prouder title no man shall ever know. 

He who wielded the great sword of freedom, who commanded 
the marshaled loyal hosts gathered to battle for, save and perpet- 
uate the Union, the government and our free institutions, shall 
ever bear the brilliant, deathless name of our national savior. 
This shall be in all the ages the illustrious designation of Grant. 

As to the greatness of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln 
and Ulysses S. Grant, there can be no question now anywhere in 
the world. As to which was the greatest in power, heroism and 
deeds, there can be no need of debate; for each met in his life and 



276 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

labors the full measure of his duty, and answered every require- 
ment imposed by the severest exigency of his situation. These 
men severally represented the immensity, the power and beauty of 
individual character as developed and illustrated under American 
institutions and influences, and as connected with high official 
responsibility and duty. The biographical annals of the past — 
those of no other country can furnish, all things considered, three 
such names as these. The grandeur and immortality of their 
respective achievements in behalf of our republic and popular lib- 
erty and equal rights, render their names as famous and as endur- 
ing as their achievements. Let these names — those of the trio of 
good Americans — stand forever associated in the minds and affec- 
tions, the admiration and love, of our great nation, whose power 
and influence because of their lives and deeds shall reach for good 
yet in some sacred and advantageous manner all the people of the 
world, even those who dwell in the uttermost parts. 

The name of Washington, in its associations with the triumphs 
and glories of our independence and the inauguration of the 
national government; the name of Lincoln, in its associations with 
the victories of law and liberty in the overthrow of the late Rebel- 
lion; and the name of Grant as connected with the conduct, the 
struggle, and the achievements of the Army of the Republic as 
directed against those who sought the severance of the Union, 
should be no less dear to us than those moral and material blessings, 
precious and priceless, for which they stand. 

"First in war; first in peace; first in the hearts of his country- 
men" — these words declare the place accorded in popular estima- 
tion to the Father of our Country. Standing around the solemn, 
sacred scenes of Gettysburg the emancipator of our country. 
November, 1863, employed these matchless words, which fi.xed for- 
ever his place in history and the affection of the people. He said: 

" But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, 
we cannot hallow, this ground. The brave men, living ^nd dead, 
who struggled here have consecrated it far above our power to add 
or detract. ' The world will little note nor long remember what 
we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.' It is for us, 
the living, rather to be dedicated to the great task remaining before 
us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to 
the cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devo- 
tion; that we here highly resolve that the dead shall not have died 
in vain; that the nation shall under God have a new birth of free- 
dom; and that the government of the people, by the people, and 
for the people, shall not perish from the earth." 



OF IVASII/.VGTO.V'S INAUGURATION. 377 

And while imagination shall last, while memory shall retain for 
man a lively and accurate knowledge of man's noblest deeds for the 
state and the people, and while the human mind shall serve to esti- 
mate and value in just and cordial appreciation such deeds, the 
heroism and courage, the brave and magnanimous conduct, the 
grand and magnificent achievements of Grant in military and civil 
life, will compel mankind to give hiin conspicuous, equal place with 
these other great men, as the one to whom the sword of the Confed- 
eracy was surrendered by Lee, and whose title of Savior of the 
Republic was justly won. 

In the midst of the hallowed memories of this occasion Illinois 
will be pardoned should her heart swell with pride at mention of 
the names, with allusion however slight to the deeds of her noble 
sons, Lincoln and Grant. They were the sons of this great com- 
monwealth. They are now the children of the nation. The old 
mother of Presidents, as Virginia was called once, can no longer 
claim Washington as hers. Content to keep and guard well the 
ashes of this great son of the nation, she unites in the general 
common applause this day offered by all the grateful children of 
the republic to his wise and patriotic life, which grows brighter 
and more luminous as the years of the republic multiply. So, too, 
history has placed in her highest and most honorable niches, as the 
sacred heritage of the nation to the latest day, the characters of 
Lincoln and Grant. 

Forever shall the beautiful classic Potomac, upon whose banks 
slumber his remains, in the music of its gentle, joyous waves, chant 
the immortal praises of Washington. The breathing winds, mus- 
ical in every tone, of the boundless prairie land in whose bosom 
his tomb is held consecrated in peace and glory, shall hymn forever 
the undying honor and applause of Lincoln; while the dashing 
billows of the Atlantic, near whose waters in the proud metropolis 
of our nation the people of all lands pay their constant delighted 
respects at the grave of Grant, shall perpetuate in everlasting 
strains of lofty exaltation the excellence and glory of his name. 
But the music of the river, the song of the prairie winds, the 
refrain of the ocean — God's own voice in sweetest, matchless har- 
mony—shall be but accompaniment and support of nature in the 
living psalm poured out forever from the great swelling heart of 
the people in commendation and gratitude of their noble sons 
whose resplendent names shall shine to all the ages as veritable 
suns in the skies of our national life. 



278 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

"ULYSSES S. GRANT." 

BY THE HON. JOHN M. THURSTON. 
The last toast of the evening was " Ulysses S. Grant." It was 
responded to by the Hon. John M. Thurston of Nebraska, who 
spoke as follows: 

At the shrine of the nation's hero, Ulysses S. Grant, I bow an 
humble worshiper. 

No eloquence of human tongue can add to the perfect measure 
of his greatness. 

Yet, as an American citizen, I am glad of an opportunity to 
voice my reverent appreciation of his character as a man, his 
matchless achievements as a soldier, and his fidelity, patriotism 
and statesmanship as chief executive of the United States. 

" He was great in council and great in war. 

Foremost captain of his time; 
Rich in saving common sense, and, as the greatest only are. 

In his simplicity sublime." 
Grant came from good old Puritan stock. That strength of 
purpose which in him amounted almost to stubbornness was inher- 
ited from generations of Pilgrims, patriots and pioneers. His early 
years were passed in a community where man, woman and child 
were expected to share in the universal habits of industry and fru- 
gality. He accepted his daily task as a matter of course. He 
entered upon its performance with the same cheerful zeal and 
silent determination to succeed which so signally characterized him 
in those later days of mighty responsibilities and herculean under- 
takings. By birth and education he was of the people. He was 
taught to believe in the equality of men. His plain, simple, uncon- 
cerned demeanor in all the future time of power and glory was a 
continual protest against the slavish distinction of wealth and 
place. One of the most essential elements of his greatness and 
success was his thorough democracy of character. Every soldier 
of the army he led knew that the great commander held them all 
as men and brothers jointly engaged in the same great cause of 
preservation of their common country. This knowledge and belief 
hushed the voice of rivalry and envy and animated the whole Grand 
Army of the Republic with the irresistible vigor of an united pur- 
pose. In the presence of Grant the humblest citizen knew that he 
was held as an equal, and kings and princes felt themselves to be 
no more. Grant, although educated at West Point, had no love for 
a military life. His services with the army during the Mexican 



OF IVAS/n.VaTO.V'S I.VAUGURATION. 279 

War were valorous and honorable, but he could not endure the life 
of a soldier in time of peace. Nothing but the guns of a Sumter 
could have aroused him from the simple life of a humble citizen. 
The guns of Sumter — how they thundered through the land! 
Their echo awoke the loyal people of the North from their dreams 
of security and peace — awoke them to find that while the nation 
slept they of the South had stolen our forts, had stolen our arms, 
had stolen our arsenals, had stolen our munitions of war, had 
stolen from our beautiful flag one-third of its bright galaxy of 
stars and set them in a banner of their own. But the North once 
awakened, slept no more. Our boys in blue sprang to arms, retook 
the forts, retook the arsenals, retook the arms, retook the muni- 
tions of war, reset the stars in the azure of the flag, whence never 
again shall an enemy's hand dare pluck them out. Grant once 
more took up the sword at the command of country, but he never 
wielded it to advance his own ambition— only to protect our glory. 
He had none of the dash and fire of the ideal soldier. He had 
rather calm resolution, deliberate purpose and uncompromising 
tenacity. As a soldier, he accepted whatever duty was assigned to 
him, encountered whatever danger beset him. Always ready and 
anxious to fight, he never waited for a more favorable opportunity 
or delayed an attempt to accomplish present possibilities. His 
theory of war was to strike the enemy often and hard; to follow 
every victory with immediate pursuit; and never to give a defeated 
foe time to rally his forces or recover lost ground. His indomita- 
ble energy and courage communicated themselves to every soldier 
in his army and compelled victories where weaker men would have 
submitted to defeat. The simplicity of his greatness, both as a sol- 
dier and a patriot, is shown in his acceptance at the hands of 
President Lincoln of the commission of Lieutenant General of the 
armies of the United States. In assuming the exalted rank and 
tremendous responsibilities, he said: "Mr. President, I accept the 
commission with gratitude for the high honor conferred. With the 
aid of the noble armies that have fought in so many fields for our 
common country, it will be my earnest endeavor not to disappoint 
your expectations. I feel the full weight of the responsibilities now 
devolving on me, and I know if they are met it will be due to those 
armies, and, above all, to the favor of that Providence which leads 
both nations and men." Why spend time to trace the history of 
his successful victories? Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Chattanooga 
are monuments of his undying fame. Against the unbroken front 
of his splendid army the Confederate Government beat out its life. 
Lee surrendered, the Union was safe; the measure of Grant's fame 



280 CinCAGO-S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

was full. In the exaltation of final conquest his loyal, tender, gen- 
erous heart went out in sympathy and sorrow to the prostrate foe. 
His terms of surrender to the heroic Lee were worthy of the great- 
ness of the man. As he had subdued the hosts of the Confederacy 
by merciless war, he won their undying affection by his merciful 
love. What a splendid triumph to the great General when, the 
23d and 24th of May, 1865, the war-worn, battle-scarred veterans 
marched in grand review through the streets of the capital of the 
nation their heroism had saved! The nation, saddened by the 
murder of our Lincoln, received them with profound, if solemn, joy. 
A million heroes wearing the laurels of countless victories were 
welcomed back, and received the priceless recompense of a people's 
blessing. In the supreme exultation of the hour, that other army 
of heroic dead holding their eternal bivouac where they fell, sleep- 
ing in unknown graves, were not forgotten in the welcome of their 
surviving comrades. There were cheers for the living, tears for the 
dead. Grant was the central figure of the war— the one great 
leader whose military genius and success dwarfs the mighty accom- 
plishments of all others into complete insignificance. He never 
lost a battle or found it necessary to take a backward step. His 
final plans, executed by true and devoted subordinates who found 
their greatest honor in serving under him, drew the iron coils of 
the Union army closer and closer around the Confederate hosts and 
crushed them into unconditional surrender. He commanded the 
greatest army ever assembled on earth since the invention of fire- 
arms. In four years of unceasing battle this army participated in 
more than two thousand actual engagements. It subsisted all this 
time in the open field on a continual advance over the fortified ter- 
ritory of a brave, powerful and successful enemy. It was com- 
pelled to accept for its battle-fields those places selected by the foe 
and carefully prepared to resist attack. Added to this, it kept up 
an almost unbroken line of battle more than fifteen hundred miles 
in length, and a spectacle of war is presented of so great and won- 
derful a kind that it stands by itself without a parallel in history or 
tradition. The military fame of the hero whose undimmed skill 
and courage led this wonderful army by a series of unbroken vic- 
tories to final triumph, is beyond the reach of criticism or the 
assault of envy. 

But Grant's services to his country did not end at Appomat- 
tox. For eight years, as chief executive, he served his people 
faithfully and well. In that exalted position he remained the 
same unassuming, honest and loyal man. His administration was 
firm, just, wise and patriotic. During its continuation this nation 



OF IV A SHING TON' S IN. 4 UG UR. I TION. 381 

greatly advanced its power abroad and its prosperity at home. 
Under it tiie rights and privileges of American citizens were re- 
spected and enforced. While he did not escaj^e the passing shafts 
of political calumny, the deliberate judgment of the universal 
public opinion has left his fame untarnished. 

The last year of his life was inexpressibly sad. At the time 
he knew himself to be filled with incurable disease, his whole 
property was swept away by the dishonesty of a trusted friend 
and he went down to his grave a poor man. But never did 
the grandeur of his courage shine out so clearly as in the presence 
of misfortune and expected death. The spectacle of that silent 
man on Mount McGregor, holding death at bay while he finished 
the memoirs whose sale was to preserve a home to his family, 
is the most wonderful ever presented for the admiration of 
the human race. His great work done, meekly and resignedly he 
awaited the end, reverently prepared to meet that Father whose 
overruling guidance and providence he had always believed in 
and enjoyed. May 8, 1885, God's angel spake to him the same 
sweet words he had spoken to the Union: "Let ns have peace." 

"Unbended courage and compassion joined. 
Tempering each other in the victor's mind: 
Alternately proclaimed him good and great. " 

When his great funeral cortege passed through the streets of 
the metropolis of the nation, following it with solemn step and 
sorrowing heart came Federal and Confederate side by side; 
and of the sincerest mourners at the bier of the great were the 
officers and soldiers of that heroic army his military genius had 
subdued. 

He died as he lived, in the simplicity of his faith. The 
greatest citizen and soldier of the earth, beloved by friend and 
foe alike, who vie with each other in testifying to the high honor 
in which they held him living and the sincerity of their grief that 
he is dead. 

His deeds speak for him better than can tongue or pen; the 
glory of his name will never die, and " I was with Grant " will be 
an open sesame to American hearts and homes so long as a single 
survivor of the Grand Army of the Republic blesses the earth. 

Men and governments pass away, but the glory of valorous 
deeds lives on forever. Rome, that sat on her seven hills and from 
her throne of beauty ruled the world, has crumbled into ruin and 
decay. Her fleets, her conquering legions, her temples, palaces 
and triumphal arches, sleep almost forgotten in the dust of the 
ages; her power is gone, her nationality vanished, her language 



2«2 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

dead and unspoken of mankind; but the name of her Caesar is as 
great to-day as when Rome was at the zenith of her power, when 
her fleets sailed into every sea, and her triumphant legions sought 
in vain new fields for conquest. 

Napoleon, whose military genius dominated all Europe, who 
created for himself and family the greatest Empire of modern times, 
whose name made and unmade thrones and kings, whose victori- 
ous legions bore the eagles of France in triumph from Madrid to 
Moscow, died in enforced exile on a lonely island of the ocean. 
His Empire is obliterated from the map of nations; the sceptre of 
power has been wrested from the Napoleonic race. The last 
Empress of France, robbed of her country, her crown, and her 
king, lives on, deserted and desolate, in the land of the ancient ene- 
mies of her name. But the glorious achievements of the Little 
Corporal, side by side with those of imperial Caesar, will fire the 
hearts of the youth of every land to deeds of valor in generations 
yet to come. 

It has been said that as Caesar was to Rome and Napoleon to 
France, so was Grant to the United States. He was this, but he 
was more; for Caesar at the height of his military power turned 
his victorious legions against the liberty of his country. Napoleon 
dominated all Europe that he might place on his imperious brow 
the crown of despotic power. Grant won his battles for liberty, 
humanity and country; won them that an enslaved race might be 
free; won them that forever and forever, from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific, there should be an imperishable Union of states sacred to 
the brotherhood of man. 

And Grant will live in the hearts of the [icople whose battles he 
won so long as the cause of liberty is dear to human hearts. 

"Then, soldier, rest, thy warfare o'er, 
Dream of fighting fields no more; 
Sleep the sleep that knoweth not breaking. 
Morn of toil nor night of waking." 
Yes, rest in peace, O mighty dead, rest in peace! the cause for 
which you fought can never be assailed again. 

Sleep in peace, the race whose freedom you achieved will bless 
you to the end of time. Rest in peace, the Union you preserved 
remains forever, and liberty, equal rights and justice is the heri- 
tage of your descendants until the Judgment Day. Ulysses S. 
Grant is " one of the few immortal names that were not born to die." 



VI 



THE PYROTECHNICAL DISPLAY 



VI 

THE PYROTECHNICAL DISPLAY 



A notable feature of the celebration was the exhibition of 
fire-works in tlie evening on the Lake Front, at Lincoln Park and 
in the grounds of the West Side Driving Park Association. 

The three displays were exactly alike and of simultaneous 
occurrence. Long before the darkness made it possible to open 
proceedings immense crowds began to gather at each of the 
appointed places. At the Driving Park there were at least one 
hundred thousand people, while the throng at Lincoln Park was 
even larger. The size of the crowd that jammed together on the 
lake front can only be approximately estimated. There were 
probably two hundred thousand people in the space between 
Michigan avenue and the lake, but these were only a part of the 
throng which filled Michigan avenue as far as the eye could see 
and extended its ramifications into all the intersecting streets for 
blocks. In view of the size of the crowd and the comparatively 
small space into which it was squeezed, it is remarkable that there 
were not more serious mishaps than there were. The one regret- 
table incident in the day's proceedings — the accidental crush- 
ing of a number of people during the Lake Front display — was 
trifling when the opportunities which the occasion afforded for 
similar disasters are considered. 

The pyrotechnics were magnificent — probably no finer have 
ever been seen in America. Every known device of the pyro- 
technist's art ; every ingenious expedient of American or Japan- 
ese workers in powder and flame was used. Roman candles 
and sky-rockets in endless variety and profusion bombarded the 
heavens from 7:30 to nearly 1 1 o'clock. The set pieces were 
works of art — veritable paintings in flame. One of the best of 



286 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

them was a representation of the Capitol at Washington. As the 
fac-simile of the nation's great lav.-factory came into view, with 
its dome a scintillating ball of white flame and its noble porticoes 
stretching away in splendors of polished marble, the huge audi- 
ence drew a deep, unconscious sigh of satisfaction and broke into 
spontaneous applause. 

Another remarkable piece was simply the word "America" cut 
like an intaglio of flame out of the black sky. The word sprang 
lurid from its dusky background, grew to a glistening white, 
dulled to orange, to deep red, leapt up in a last sapphire flame — 
and was gone. 

Dozens of other pieces, wonderful in their art and in their 
beauty, were displayed. Rockets swished into space on trails of 
fire and, bursting, let fall showers of golden rain. Roman candles 
threw out starry constellations and golden misty nebulae. Pict- 
ures of Jefferson, of the White House, of the national flag and 
of the administering of the first presidential oath were given. 
Other rockets swung upward on their serpentine path and broke, 
emitting little clouds of white smoke, which formed themselves 
high in air into cameo busts of Washington, Jefferson and Adams. 
A bust of Martha Washington was succeeded by outbursts of 
cheers and another flight of rockets. An American flag, lambent 
and glowing, loomed up before the multitude, to be followed by 
another burst of cheers and another rush of sky-rockets. 

A bust of Washington, a magic piece of sculpture in pure white 
flame, appeared. For several minutes it glowed undimmed, while 
the crowd shouted its cheers. Then it paled and passed away as 
1,000 rockets, all at once and all sputtering and swishing, tore up 
the violet sky, glimmered, glittered, burst — succumbed to the 
darkness. 



VII 



THE LOAN EXHIBITION 



VII 



THE LOAN EXHIBITION 



The Loan Exhibition, held in the Art Rooms of the Exposi- 
tion Building, was one of the most interesting features of the 
Centennial celebration. It consisted of a collection of thousands 
of relics from the Revolutionarj' period, autograph letters, rare 
historical documents, portraits, firearms, newspapers, books, cur- 
rency, garments of civil and military fashion, household utensils, 
etc. 

In many cases the contributors were the descendants of the 
fathers of our country. Large contributions were also made by 
public-spirited collectors, and the exhibit was remarkable, both 
for its extent and for its highly historical character and worth. 

The exhibition, which continued several days, was largely 
attended. Only a small selection from the many thousands of 
interesting items can be mentioned in the following catalogue: 

1. Oil portrait of George Washington, by Gilbert Stuart. 
Loaned by Judge Tuley. 

2. Oil painting of Washington, by Daniel McLeod, a young 
artist of Virginia, in whom Washington took great interest. 
Loaned by Mrs. Peter Daggy. 

3. Oil portrait of Washington, by Stuart. Loaned by Mr. 
Eastman. 

4. Tapestry portrait of Washington, made and loaned by Mrs. 
M. Malone. 

5. Oil portrait of President Benjamin Harrison, by W. C. 
Knoeke of Chicago. Property of Mr. J. M. Huston, United States 
Treasurer. 

6. Lyre, owned by George Washington. Presented to his 
niece, by Mrs. Jane Washington, by her to Mrs. John O. Wright of 
Chicago. Loaned by Mr. Chester B. Wright. 



290 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

7. Oil portrait of Washington. Copy of Jo Trumbull's cele- 
brated equestrian picture. Loaned by the Union League Club. 

8. Oil portrait of Washington by Stuart. Loaned by Mr. 
C. F. Gunther. 

9. Gen. Green's wedding vest. Loaned by Mrs. H. S. Peck. 

10. Mrs. Gen. Green's wedding dress. Loaned by Mrs. H. S. 
Peck. 

11. A silver porringer, made by Paul Revere. Loaned by Mr. 
Joseph Ward. 

12. Brace of beautifully ornamented pistols, presented by 
Washington to Gen. Ward. Loaned by Mr. Joseph Ward. 

13. Sword presented by the President of the United States to 
Ensign Joseph Duncan for services in the War of 1812, voted for 
the defense of Saunders, Ky. Loaned by Mr. Joseph Duncan. 

14. Chair once used by George Washington. Loaned by Mr 
McCuUoch. 

15. Columbian album, 1816. Loaned by Mr. C. B. Wright. 

16. Sword of Gen. George Reid, who commanded the New 
Hampshire troops at Bunker Hill. Loaned by Mr. Edgerton 
Adams. 

17. Copper ale tankard, 176 years old. Loaned by Mr. George 
S. Knox. 

18. Medallion of George Washington, made in Paris. Loaned 
by Mr. S. P. Bradley. 

19. Mrs. Gen. Green's watch and silk muff. Loaned by Mrs. 
H. S. Peck. 

20. Six tea spoons used by Washington. Loaned by Miss 
Angelina Wann. 

21. Two silver chafing dishes, presented by Martha Wash- 
ington to John S. Wright. Loaned by Mr. C. D. Wright. 

22. Four dollar continental bill, paid to Stephen Walker 
for his service in the Revolutionary War. Loaned by Mr. John 
Kile. 

23. Set of linen staves worn by Mrs. Capt. Henny, 1757. 
Loaned by Mrs. S. A. Cary. 

24. A piece of satin sash worn at the Inauguration of Washing- 
ton. Loaned by Mr. A. H. Stringe. 

25. A badge in yellow ribbon, with Washington medallion, 
worn at the Inauguration of Washington. Loaned by Mr. A. H. 
Stringe. 

26. Pistol, 1760. Loaned by Dr. C. W. Evans. 

27. Snuff box, 1760. Loaned by Dr. C. W. Evans. 

28. Razor, 1760. Loaned by Dr. C. W. Evans. 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 291 

29. Five almanacs, 1797 to 1S07. Loaned by Mr. James M. 
Grey. 

30. Powder horn made by Indians in western New York. 
Loaned by Mr. W. A. Stahl. 

31. Postoffice order, dated April 8, 1799. Loaned by Mr. B. A. 
Brenan. 

32. Blunderbuses taken from the boat from which the tea was 
thrown overboard in Boston Harbor. Loaned by Mr. George S. 
Knapp. 

33. Indian war club. Loaned by Mr. B. A. Brenan. 

34. Powder horn used by J. I. Elliot in 1783. Loaned by Mr. 
P. A. Lovell. 

35. Washington's account book. (F. S.) Loaned by Mrs. M. 
A. Patterson. 

36. A painting formerly the property of Benedict Arnold. 
Loaned by Mrs. James Kent Pumpelly. 

37. A towel woven by Mary Dalton Morris. Used by Gen. 
Washington on a visit to Lewis Morris on the return from his Jour- 
ney of inspection to Otsego Lake. 

38. Silver bowl. This bowl was used at a breakfast at which 
the Marquis de Lafayette, Lewis Morris, Gov. Morris and Judge 
William Cooper, the founder of Cooperstown, were present. 
Loaned by Mrs. James Kent Pumpelly. 

39. Photograph of a Lieutenant's commission granted to 
Richard Pixley, dated May 19, 1875. Loaned by Mrs. James Kent 
Pumpelly. 

40. Pink satin petticoat worn by Mary Dalton Morris, wife of 
Lewis Morris, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independ- 
ence, at the first ball ever given in Harrisburg, Pa. Mrs. Morris 
opened the ball with Gen. Washington; they danced the Minuet 
together. The garment is now the property of Miss Mary Eliza- 
beth Fenimore Cone, a little girl ten years of age, thus having 
descended to the fifth generation of Maries. Loaned by Mrs. 
James Kent Pumpelly. 

41. A picture of two friends, 1759. Loaned by Mr. S. B. 
Williams. 

42. A soldier's discharge of a member of the Sixth Massa- 
chusetts Regiment, signed by George Washington. Loaned by 
Mr. Lafland. 

43. Life of Washington. Loaned by Mrs. Shehan. 

44. Powder horn of 1767. Loaned by Mr. Evans. 

45. Ulster County Gazette^ containing an account of the funeral 
of Washington. Loaned by Mr. M. Laflin. 



293 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

46. Lantern with horn windows, used by Washington's body- 
guard. Loaned by Mr. George S. Knapp. 

47. Iron candle stick, 1741. Loaned by Mr. George S. Knapp. 

48. Brass tea pot, 150 years old. Loaned by Mr. George S. 
Knapp. 

49. Warming pan, 1741. Loaned by Mr. George S. Knapp. 

50. Coffee pot, 150 years old. Loaned by Mr. George S. 
Knapp. 

51. Plate formerly the property of Simeon Crandali. Loaned 
by Mr. George S. Knapp. 

52. Razor of Simeon Crandali. Loaned by Mr. George S. 
Knapp. 

53. A piece of the Charter Oaic, Hartford, Conn. Loaned by 
Mr. J. A. Welch. 

54. New York Morning Post, Nov. 7, 1783, containing Washing- 
ton's farewell address. Loaned by Mrs. L. Murphy. 

55. Sword used by Capt. Simeon Crandali at Bunker Hill. 
Loaned by Mr. George S. Knapp. 

56. Powder horn made at Mt. Independent. Nov. 14, 1776. 
Loaned by Mr. F. Hathaway. 

57. Silhoutte of Simeon Crandali. Loaned by Mr. George S. 
Knapp. 

58. Snuff tray. Loaned by Mr. George S. Knapp. 

59. Old sword used in the Revolution. Loaned by Mr. E. W. 
Case. 

60. Photograph of house 150 years old. Loaned by Mr. E. 
W. Case. 

61. Cullender bowl over one hundred and fifty years old. 
Loaned by Hannah L. Wescott. 

62. Tinder box, 1784. Loaned by Mr. George L. Knapp. 

63. Snuff box made from the wood of the tree under which 
Jennie McCrea was murdered, 1777. Loaned by Hannah L. 
Wescott. 

64. A pin made from the wood of the Charter Oak. Loaned 
by Hannah L. Wescott. 

65. Indian work-box over one hundred years old. Loaned by 
Mrs. R. W. Campion. 

66. Earthen tea pot used by Mrs. Starkweather of New York 
City, at a tea given to Gen. Washington. Loaned by Mrs. R. W. 
Campion. 

67. Sash worn by Gen. J. B. Warren in the War of 1S12, also 
two British buttons. Loaned by Mrs. R. W. Campion. 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 293 

68. Tablecloth, woven in 1780 by Elizabeth Mathews. Loaned 
by Mr. C. H. Bradford. 

69. Ivory miniature of Capt. William Coit Williams. Painted 
by Elkannah Tisdall. Loaned by Mr. Simeon B. Williams. 

70. Two samples made by Lydia Perkins. Loaned by Mr. 
Simeon B. Williams. 

71. Sermon in "The Duties" of a conjugal state. Loaned by 
Mr. Simeon B. Williams. 

72. One dollar Continental currency, 1775. Loaned by Mr. 
R. Smith. 

73. Letter from a boy, thirteen years of age, giving a descrip- 
tion of the bombardment of Stonington. Loaned by Mr. Simeon 
B. Williams. 

74. Valentine, 1786, sent to Lydia Perkins. Loaned by Mr. 
Simeon B. Williams. 

75. Commission of Justice of Peace, issued to Rufus Ritman, 
Esq., April 29, 1787, and the eleventh year of the independence of 
the United States of America. Loaned by Mr. J. H. Buckingham. 

76. Biographical memoirs of Gen. Washington. Loaned by 
Mr. William Cowan. 

77. Passport to Chester Atwater, signed by Timothy Pickering, 
April 24, 1800. Loaned by Mr. G. Graham. 

78. Account book for 1692 to 1708. Loaned by Mr. H. H. 
Tebbets. 

79. A letter written b\' Agar Thompson, a soldier of the Revo- 
lution, April 10, 177.3. Loaned by Mr. G. Graham. 

80. Powder-horn used by members of the Tebbets family at the 
battle on the Heights of Abraham and at Bunker Hill. Loaned bv 
Mr. H. H. Tebbets. 

81. Ulster Cffunty Gazette, Jan. 4, 1800. Loaned by Mr. W. J. 
Scott. 

82. Pair of steelyards and weights, hand-made, 1786. Loaned 
by Mr. George S. Knapp. 

83. Portrait of Gen. Lewis, from the original portrait by Peale. 
Loaned by Mrs. C. U. Wann. 

84. Picture of a house built at Wattapoisett, Mass., by Lieut. 
John Hammond, about 1700. Loaned by Mr. N. A. Partridge. 

85. Blunderbus used at Valley Forge. Loaned by Mr. Mark 
Mitchell. 

86. Sword used in the War of 181 3. Loaned by Mr. J. M. 
Adams. 

87. Columbia Mirror and Alexandria Gazette, Saturday, Aug. 
25, 1798. Loaned by Mr. C. W. Miller. 



294 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

88. Lace cap worn by the great-grandmother of Silas Adams, 
about two hundred years old. Loaned by Mr. William C. Vaughn. 

89. A part of a child's apron, came down through the Adams' 
family from 1720. Loaned by Mr. William C. Vaughn. 

90. Letter from George Washington to Gen. George Reid, 
Commander at Albany. Loaned by Mr. J. McGregor Adams. 

91. A portrait of Gen. George Washington, painted by a soldier 
at Valley Forge. Loaned by Mr. Richard Barlow. 

92. A portrait of Martha Washington. Loaned by Mr. Richard 
Barlow. 

93. A copy of the Albany Gazette, Friday, Jan. 13, 1797. Loaned 
by Col. M. Sweeny. 

94. Two letters of Bushrod Washington, 1735, 1760. Loaned 
by Mr. C. W. Miller. 

95. Seven pieces of old crockery over one hundred years old. 
Loaned by Mrs. H. L. Nescott. 

96. Yale diploma granted to John Willard, Sept. 11, 1782. 
Loaned by Dr. Samuel Willard. 

97. Copper cent, 1787. Loaned by Mr. H. R. Rook. 

98. Washington medal, 1781. Loaned by Gen. Thomas 
Wilson. 

99. Centennial button, 1775. Loaned by Mr. F. Hagden. 

100. Ohiman razor, and a sermon dedicated to Gen. Washing- 
ton, 1783. Loaned by Mrs. Sheehan. 

101. Pistol presented to Gen. Burgoyne by William R. Briggs. 
Loaned by Mrs. M. H. Andrews. 

102. Diary kept by Samuel Benjamin. Loaned by Mr. George 
S. Knapp. 

103. Pair of scales used by Deacon Moses Fitch, grandfather 
of Deacon Moses Fitch of Union Park Congregational Church, 
Chicago. Loaned by Mr. C. H. Marchant. 

104. A water-color painting of the mill on Chester Creek, N. Y., 
where the corn was ground for Washington's army when encamped 
at White Plains. Loaned by Lucy Durham. 

105. A piece of shingle from White Plains mill. Loaned by 
Lucy Durham. 

106. Boston Gazette (fac-simile), March 12, 1776. Loaned by 
Mr. Alexander McDonald. 

107. A printed calico picture, 1776. Loaned by Mrs. D. Kuhn. 

108. Two old chairs used in the Continental Congress. Loaned 
by Mrs. Niscott. 

109. Looking glass over one hundred and fifty years old. 
Loaned by Mr. J. F. Hughson. 



OF IVAS/iWCTOX'S INAUGURATION: 395 

no. Ulster County Gazette. Loaned by Mr. B. Gubirt. 

111. Geography of the United States, 1796. Loaned by Mr. 
Harry Manning. 

112. Picture over one hundred years old, claimed as a lost art. 
Loaned by Hannah L. Wescott. 

113. The American flag and Washington coat of arms. Loaned 
by Mr. Isaac IL Taylor. 

114. Tobacco box made and used by Capt. Josiah Woodruff. 
Loaned by Mr. P. G. Monroe. 

115. The sword and pistols of Gen. Amasa Davis of the Con- 
tinental Army. Loaned by Mr. P. G. and S. K. Monroe. 

116. Powder horn, 1777. Loaned by Mr. L. Pifer. 

117. Portrait and dress sword of Gen. Roger Nelson. Loaned 
by Mrs. Harry Manning. 

118. A badge of the centennial birthday of Gen. Washington. 
Loaned by Mr. Thomas H. Watts. 

119. A copy of the Boston Gazette, March 12, 1770. Loaned by 
Mr. George S. Knapp. 

120. Muff, formerly the property of the grandmother of Gen. 
H. W. Halleck. Loaned by Mr, Frank Brust. 

121. Knife, fork and spoon, 175 years old. Loaned by Mr. 
Frank Brust. 

122. Rolling-pin, formerly the property of the grandmother of 
Gen. H. W. Halleck. Loaned by Mr. Frank Brust. 

123. Portrait of Maj. Jabez Halleck, grandfather of Gen. H. W. 
Halleck. Loaned by Mr. Frank Brust. 

124. A Masonic dimit of Washington's lodge, 1794. Loaned 
by Mr. George S. Knapp. 

125. A Washington penny, 1791. Loaned by Mr. J. H. Gray. 

126. Two belt buckles and two knee buckles, came over on the 
Mayflower, 1620. Loaned by Mr. George S. Knapp. 

127. Three pieces of Continental money, 1767, 1776, 1780. 
Loaned by Mr. George S. Knapp. 

128. A certificate of a volunteer fireman, citj"^ of New York, 
1787. Loaned by Mr. George S. Knapp. 

AUTOGRAPH LETTERS, DOCUMENTS, ETC., LOANED BY MR. C. F. 

GUNTHER. 

129. Letter of Gen. Washington to Charles Pettit, dated head- 
quarters, 9th Sept., 1778. 

130. Letter from Washington in regard to the Wyoming settle- 
ments. 

131. A letter from Washington to Gov. Clinton, dated head- 
quarters, White Plains, July 23, 1778. 



296 r/I/CACO'S CEMTENXIAI. CFA.F.BRATION 

132. Original daily order book of Washington's army at the 
siege of Yorktown. 

133. A letter of Maj. Andre, Jan. 4, 1786. 

134. A survey of lands on the Ohio River by W. H. Crawford, 
surveyor, May, 1771, patented in the name of George Washington 
and endorsed by him. 

135. Drawing of the plan of the residence of Washington 
while at Philadelphia. Made by himself. 

136. The Philadelphia Gazette, dated May 26, 1802, announcing 
the death of Martha Washington. 

137. Will of Daniel Park Grant, father of Daniel Park Custis, 
1679. 

138. Original survey and plat of land of the Ohio and Great 
Kanawha Rivers, made by George Washington, Mount Vernon, 
Dec. 25, 1787. 

139. Original account book of Washington of his Ohio and 
Kanawha River land expenses. 

140. A proclamation of Gov. Dinwiddle, given in Williamsburg, 
Feb. 19, 1754. 

141. A rare portrait of Washington, engraved by Savage, 1783. 

142. A resolution of Congress. Aug. 4, 1789, signed by Wash- 
ington, to George Walton. 

143. A letter from Valley Forge, April 12, 1778, by George 
Washington. 

144. A list of lands belonging to Washington in Virginia, and 
Ohio, in Washington's autograph. 

145. A survey or sketch of lands owned by Mr D. Litchs, 
made by Washington. 

146. List of lands belonging to Washington, west of the 
Allegheny Mountains and in the great Dismal Swamp in Virginia, 
May 25, 1794. Written by Washington. 

147. Letter from Washington, June 1, 1793, in regard to 
sending an Agent to the Chicasaws and Choctaws. 

148. A letter written by Betty Lewis, sister of George 
Washington, May 18, 1790. 

149. Original will of Mr. John Custis. 

150. A receipt in the handwriting of Washington from the 
teacher of Miss Custis, John Stadler, for one year's music. 

151. Original will of Lawrence Washington, deeding his 
property to the Washington family, and the Fairfax estates to 
George Washington. 



OP IVAS/rrXCrTOM'S UVAUGURAT/ON. 297 

152. A leaf of Washington's account book, April, 1786. 
Washington's message to the Senate and House of Representatives, 
dated United States, December 13, 1791, in regard to letting out 
the Capitol at Washington. 

153. The probated record of the will of George Washington, 
January, 1800. Signed by George Steptoe Washington, Samuel 
Washington, Lawrence Lewis and others. 

154. A letter of Washington, 13th July, 1798, accepting appoint- 
ment as Lieutenant-General, to take command in the then threat- 
ening war with the French. 

155. A letter of Martha Washington, Mount Vernon, Sept. 6, 
1786. 

156. A book, " View of the Internal Evidence of Christian 
Religion," presented by Martha Washington to her daughter, with 
autograph of Martha Washington. 

157. Virgil's ..Eneid, "presented by Martha Washington to her 
beloved daughter, Elenor Park Custis, 1794." 

158. Old engraving of the surrender of Lord Cornwallis. 

159. A sermon delivered Dec. 29, 1779, on the death of Wash- 
ington, by Mr. Samuel Miller. 

160. Fine collections of many hundreds of early engravings of 
scenes and portraits. 

161. Original resolutions of Congress, on the death of John 
Ouincy Adams, written on parchment. 

162. Ancient French colonial musket, the " Long Tom," cap- 
tured by Kendrick Martin at the siege of Louisville, 1745. 

163. A very rare original engraving of the Washington family, 
by Savage, 1796. 

164. A sixteenth century student lamp. 

165. Desk used by Gen. Lafayette during the Revolution. 

166. An order that a day of thanksgiving be set aside, in hand- 
vi'riting of John Hancock, Oct. 27, 1774. 

167. A proclamation for a general fast, 1766. 

168. Order of exercises of the commencement of Harvard Uni- 
versity, July 18, 1798. 

169. Oil portrait of Washington, by Polk and Charles Wilson 
Peale, 1779. 

170. A proclamation by John Hancock for a day of fasting, 
humiliation and prayer, March 4, 1793. 

171. Order of a procession in honor of the establishment of the 
Constitution of the United States. Printed by Hall & Sellers. 

172. First copy of the Declaration of Independence owned by 
Thomas Jefferson. 



298 CHICAGO'S CENTENXIAL CELEBRATION 

173. Print of an attack of the rebels on Fort Penobscott, 1785. 

174. "Washington." An old steel engraving, " Patrae Pater," 
proof; original painted by Rembrandt Peale. 

175. Old flint-lock muskets. 

176. Oil portrait of Lafayette, painted by Rembrandt Peale, 
on the patriot's second visit to America, 1724. 

177. Spurs worn by Gen. Stark of the Revolution. 

178. Lock and key from Bemis Heights. 

179. Four-shot flint-lock pistol. 

180. Revolutionary canteen, 1776. 

181. Continental currency. 

182. Officer's uniform, used in the Revolution. 

183. Chair belonging to Gov. Bradford of the Revolution. 

184. A sword carried by Capt. John Boyd in the Revolution. 

185. Chair brought from England, 1720. 

186. Spinning-wheel of the last century. 

187. Chair of New England, from the Ben Perley Poore collec- 
lection, 1665. 

188. Letter from Samuel Huntington to Gov. Clinton, dated 
Norwich, Jan. 31, 1793. 

189. Letter from Brig.-Gen. James Clinton, relating to the 
exchange of prisoners, dated Dec. 23, 1778. 

190. "Siege of Quebec," a sonata, composed by W. B. Knift, 
and dedicated to the officers engaged; Sept. 10, 1759. 

191. A circular issued by John Hague, relating to the manu- 
facture of carding and spinning wheels and carding and spinning 
machines. 

192. An order from Guy Carleton, dated Jan. S, 1778. 

193. Letter from Israel Putnam, dated Headquarters, Peck's 
Mills, July 12, 1777. 

194. A piece of the battle-flag of the New York regiment, siege 
of Yorktown. 

195. An account of Thomas Payne, for services rendered to 
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 1781. 

196. A piece of the battle-flag of a New York regiment at the 
siege of Yorktown. 

197. Chair used in the Continental Congress while at Lancas- 
ter, Penn. 

198. Colonial bedstead upon which Washington slept many 
times, once the property of Col. Burwel Bassett, brother-in-law of 
Washington, New Kent County, Va. 

199. A letter from Thomas Jefferson in regard to the construc- 
tion of the University of Virginia, Monticello, Va., May 20, 1824. 



OF XVASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 299 

200. A copy of the Amcrkan Herald of Liberty, Exeter, N. H., 
Wednesday, 23d, 1795. 

201. An "extra" of the London Evening Post, May 29, 1775, con- 
taining the first printed account in London of the Battle of Lex- 
ington. 

202. Twenty-seven portraits of the British officers of the Revo- 
lution. 

203. Etched portraits of the members of the Continental Con- 
gress. 

204. A collection of newspapers, consisting of the following: 
New England Weekly Journal, April 8, 1728; Dtinlaf s Pennsylvania 
Packet or General Advertisers, July 17, 1775; American Magazines for 
May, 1744, November, 1743; Essex Gazette, April 19, 1774; Indepen- 
dent Chronicle and Universal Advertiser, Oct. 21, 1784; Thomase's Mas- 
sachusetts Sun, Thursday, Jan. 27, 1785; Pennsylvania Gazette, April 
5, 1750; Columbian Sentinel, July 14, 1798; Western Star, Stock- 
bridge, Mass., Nov. 13, 1792; The Star and North Carolina State 
Gazette, Raleigh, N. C, Nov. 10, 1820; Boston News Letter, No. 507; 
Salem Gazette, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 1795; Extra Boston Neios Letter, 
containing an account of the King of Prussia's success, March 2, 
1762; Pennsylvania Gazette, April 7, 1773; Ne^v England Weekly Jour- 
nal, April 8, 1728; The Boston Gazette and Country Journal, Monday, 
Jan. 28, 1771; an extra of \.\\^ Register office of Salem, containing 
the President's message, Dec. 25, 1802; The Providence Gazette and 
Country Journal, Saturday, July 20, 1776; Maryland Journal and Bal- 
timore Advertiser, May 29, 1776 ; Neto England Courant, Monday, 
Feb. 4, to Monday, Feb. 11, 1775; the first newspaper printed by 
Benjamin Franklin, the New York Morning Post, Friday, Nov. 

7, 1783- 

205. A collection of flints, showing the process of making flints 
for muskets in the time of the Revolution. 

206. A sermon preached by John Cotton at Boston, Feb. 

8, 1728. 

207. A letter from John Hancock, dated Philadelphia, June 
14, 1776. 

208. A letter from Anthony Wayne, dated Headquarters, Hob- 
son's Choice, May 14, 1793. 

209. Orderly book for the garrison at West Point for the Army 
of the Revolution, 1781. 

210. Nine powder horns of the Revolution. 

211. Colonial shoes, 1776. 

212. Slippers worn by Margaret Carter, one of Washington's 
household. 



300 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

213. Cartridge box used in the Revolution, 1776. 

214. Pair of plated candle-sticks and snuffers used by Gen. 
Artemus Ward of the Revolution. 

215. Silver plated snuffer tray, period George II., from John 
Hancock's house, Boston. 

216. Copper cup owned by Paul Revere. 

217. A bullet fired by the British at Bunker Hill. 

218. Benjamin Franklin's ink stand. 

219. John Hancock's vifatch, fob chain and seal. 

220. An ancient tinder box used before matches were invented. 

221. Powder horn, once the property of Gen. Sullivan, 1771. 

222. Knife and fork from the camp chest of Lord Cornvvallis 
at Yorktown, 1771. 

223. Wine cup made of horn, used by Gen. Poor of the Revo- 
lution. 

224. Gen. Israel Putnam's watch. 

225. Curious snuff box, formerly the property of Gen. Artemus 
Ward of the Revolution. 

226. Flute owned and used by a band man in Cornwallis' army 
at the siege of Yorktown, was carried back to London and again 
brought to America by George Waderin in 1841. Purchased by a 
descendant in i88g. 

227. Two buttons from Franklin's coat. 

228. Brass bullet mold used by the Rhode Island Minute Men 
in the Revolution. 

229. Pocket tinder box, carried by a soldier in the Revolution. 

230. Indian Wampum found with two skeletons under the Old 
William Penn Treaty Tree in Colonial times. 

231. Blunderbus of 1750. 

232. Glasses worn in 1687, when Sir Edmond D. Andros was 
Governor of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay. 

233. A collection of New England Primers, 1637, 1756, 1773, 
1777, 1761, 1801, t8i8 and others. 

234. The first Mother Goose, 1794. 

235. Pamphlet containing account of a patent fire-place, 
printed by Franklin in 1774. 

236. A Code of 1650, of the General Court of the Common- 
wealth, commonly called The Blue Laws. 

237. A Thanksgiving discourse preached in Boston, May 23, 
1776, by Jonathan Mayhew, D. D., occasioned by the repeal of the 
Stamp Act. 

238. A German book, the first printed by Franklin, in 1742. 



OF WASHING-ION'S INAUGURATION 301 

239. An account of the late revolution in New England, 
together with a declaration of the general commerce of Boston 
and country adjacent, April 18, 1689, written by Nathaniel Beifield, 
a merchant of Bristol, New England, to his friends in London. 

240. The first book published in English by Franklin, entitled 
"A Treaty Held with Indians of the Six Nations, July, 1742, at 
Philadelphia." 

241. The first printed Constitution of the United States. 

242. A pocket almanac belonging to Thomas Jefferson, in which 
is recorded Chief Logan's speech. 

243. "New England's First Fruits," book of the progress of 
learning in the College of Cambridge, Mass., published in London, 

1745- 

244. French Bible, printed in New York, 1815. 

245. Sermon in manuscript by Cotton Mather. 

246. The first INIassachusetts Bible, Worcester, 1793. 

247. The charters for the Province of Pennsylvania and the 
City of Philadelphia, printed by Benjamin Franklin in 1742. 

248. The first arithmetic giving money problems in dollars and 
cents, 1793. 

249. The first Episcopal prayer-book printed in the United 
States, 1803. 

250. The Martyr Book, the largest book printed in the Colo- 
nies up to 174S. 

251. A book containing the autograph of Martha Washington, 
1800. 

252. Record book <if Maj.-Gen. William Heath, continental 
army. 

253. Original order book of Ticonderoga. 

254. Orderly book. Headquarters, Crown Point, July, 1776. 

255. Record book, containing the manuscript copy of Gen. 
Jackson's farewell to his army in the handwriting of an orderly. 
The map of the march of the Second Massachusetts Brigade, Sep- 
tember, 1785, to the disbandment of the army, 

256. A collection of old almanacs, 1751, 1757, 1758, 1759, 1773, 
1774, 1776, 1779' 1797. 1S02, 1S03, 1804, 1806, 1812, 1813, 1815, 1818, 
1823. 

257. A letter addressed to Gen. Washington by Gen. B. Lin- 
coln, giving a detailed account of the origin of Shay's Rebellion 
and military measures resorted to for its suppression, dated Hing- 
ham, Dec. 4, 1786. 



a03 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

258. A record of the Council of War called to consider the 
evacuation of Fort Moultrie, and its investment by the garrison at 
Charleston, March 27, 1780. 

259. An abstract statement from the Treasury Books of Ex- 
penditures for the United States, in support of the households of 
their respective Presidents, commencing November, 1781, and end- 
ing November, 1788. 

260. A letter from Mrs. Janette Montgomery, wife of Richard 
Montgomery, asking Mr. Chew for a legal opinion. 

261. Diaiy of Maj.-Gen. Lincoln, of his journey from New 
York to Charleston, to assume command of the Southern Depart- 
ment, Oct. 17, 1778. 

262. Journal of Maj.-Gen. Lincoln. 

263. Original manuscript of the order of the procession at 
Boston, on Friday, Feb. 10, 1788, for the ratification of the New 
Constitution, which was adopted the day before. 

264. A steel engraving of Robert Fulton, and letter written 
by him, dated New York, Dec. 3, 1814. 

265. Thomas Jefferson's speech, delivered at his installation, 
March 4, 1801. This speech is printed on silk. 

266. A letter from Gov. Shirley to Gov. Thomas, May 20, 1744. 

267. Thomas Jefferson's letter recalling Robert R. Livingston 
from France; James Madison, Secretary of State. 

268. Letter of John Adams to Dr. Waterhouse, July 25, 1813. 

269. Original manuscript for the first proposition to celebrate 
the 4th of July with fireworks, to the Supreme Executive Council 
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 

270. Original cipher letter of Benjamin Franklin, August 
16, 1781. 

271. Original manuscript of General Warren, who fell at 
Bunker Hill. 

272. Proclamation of Sir Henry Clinton to American rebels 
to lay down their arms, March i, 1780. 

273. Original manuscript of John Adams, on throwing tea 
overboard in Boston Harbor. 

274. Letter of Robert Orme, Aid-de-Camp to General Brad- 
dock, giving the particulars of his defeat, of Braddock's death 
and of the gallantry of Col. Washington. 

275. A letter from George Washington Lafayette, son of 
Lafayette. 

276. Silk sash worn by the ladies of New York at the re- 
ception of Lafayette. 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 30a 

277. Order of Gen. Joseph Sullivan, army of the Revolution, 
July 26, 1777, pardoning Daniel Brown and John Murphy, sen- 
tenced to be shot for house-breaking. 

278. Medal given for the capture of Lewisburg, 1758. 

279. A collection of medals given to the Indians of Canada 
for their aid in the Revolution by George III. 

280. Sword of Lafitte, the pirate of the gulf. 

281. Compass and chain used in laying out the city of Phila- 
delphia by John Ladd, who came there with William Penn. 

282. A corset of the colonial period. 

283. A letter from Sarah Henry, mother of Patrick Henry, 
dated June 5, 1777. 

284. A letter from Martha Washington, Nov. 2, 1778. 

285. A letter from Abigail Adams, wife of President Adams, 
dated Jan. 7, 1801. 

286. A letter from Elizabeth Schuyler, wife of Alexander Ham- 
ilton, May, 1819. 

287. A letter from Paul Jones. 

288. The naval dagger of Paul Jones. 

289. Abstract containing the encouragement offered by Con- 
tinental Congress for such as should enlist in the Continental 
Army. 

290. Original printed articles of agreement between George 
III. and the Penns, and also Lord Baltimore, giving lands in 
America. 

291. Extra of the London Gazette, announcing the capture of 
Philadelphia by the British, in England. 

292. Paper containing the account of the marriage of John 
Hancock, who was in Lexington on the evening before the battle 
to see his sweetheart. 

293. Original order of George the III. to Lord Carmathen to 
have the American Minister, John Adams, present his credentials. 

294. The original resolution, sent by Charles Thomson, Secre- 
tary of Congress, urging the different states to take the most effec- 
tual measures for the suppression of theatrical entertainments, 
horse-racing, gaming and such other diversions as are productive 
of idleness, dissipation and general depravity of principles and 
manners, and that all officers in the army are strictly enjoined to 
see that good and wholesome rules be provided for the preserva- 
tion of the morals among the soldiers. 

295. Order issued by Gen. Cornwallis, dated Dec. 11, 1776. 

296. A letter from E, Rutledge, concerning the Declaration of 
Independence. 



304 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

297. A letter from Brig.-Gen. John St. Clair, with Braddock 
in the French and Indian War, dated about July 14, 1776. 

298. Letter of Baron Steuben, dated Yorktown, Jan. 19, 1778. 

299. Original manuscript of Benedict Arnold, apology to 
America for his treason. 

300. The patent issued to Robert Fulton's steamship. 

301. Minutes of a treaty held at Easton, Pa., October, 1758. 

302. A copy of the certificate for membership in the American 
Philosophical Society, dated Jan. 20, 1786, signed by Benjamin 
Franklin, President; John Ewing, William White, James Vaughan, 
Vice-Presidents. 

303. Thomas Jefferson's book of astronomical observances. 

304. Pottery, representing the landing of Lafayette on his 
second visit, 1804. 

305. A beaker, formerly the property of Paul Revere. 

306. Medallion of Benjamin Franklin, on wood. 

307. Very rare Benjamin Franklin plates, illustrating the resi- 
dence of Gen. Lafayette. 

308. American independence pottery: Landing of Gen. Lafay- 
ette at Castle Garden, 1824; McDonohue's factory. Lake Cham- 
plain; confederation of the thirteen states; cup and saucer, landing 
of Lafayette, New York. 

309. Silver lustre cream pitcher, used by N. Appleton, Boston, 
Mass., April, 1776. 

310. Cups and saucers, owned by Gen. Lee of the Revolution. 

311. Fruit dish and stand from Washington's headquarters, 
Salem, Mass. 

312. Sugar bowl from the Green Dragon Inn, 1776. 

313. Plate used by Gen. Washington when in New Bridgeport, 
Mass. 

314. Six plates, once owned by Dr. Joseph Warren. 

315. Ginger jar, once owned by Paul Revere. 

316. Whale oil lamp, once owned by Joseph Warren 

317. Pitcher, once owned by Washington's mother. 

318. Letter of Gen. Putnam, Jan. 17, 1777. 

319. Almanac, " Poor Richard Improved," by Benj. Frank- 
lin, 1762. 

320. Letter of Brig. Gen. Richard Montgomery, Princeton, 
Nov. 16, 1777. 

321. Proclamation by Robert Munckton, Captain General and 
Governor in Chief, Province of New York. 

322. Letter of Patrick Henry, Williamsburg, Sept. 8, 1777. 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 305 

323. Oath of office of Robert Yates, Justice of the United 
States, 1790. 

324. Pamphlet, "Ode on the Bones of the Immortal Thomas 
Paine," literary transport from America to England, by the no less 
Immortal William Cobbett, printed in London, 1819. 

325. Circular by a German minister and his flock to Germany 
to induce immigration to New England, printed 1750. 

326. Original report of the President for the formation of the 
Society of the Cincinnati, organized by Baron Steuben in the Can- 
tonment of the American Army of the Hudson River, May 10, 1783. 

327. Letter of Silas Deane to the Rev. Benj. Trumball in refer- 
ence to early colonial government of Connecticut, 1774. 

328. Autograph document of Isaac Winston and Daniel Boone, 
Kentucky's first settlers. 

329. Commission made by Marquis Duquesne, 1754, appointing 
a Sac chief over a portion of territory. 

330. Letter of Cornwallis to Lafayette in regard to exchange 
of prisoners. 

331. Letter of Nathan Dane, 1788, member of old Congress, 
author of the Ordinance of 1787, regulating slavery in the North- 
west territory. 

332. Letter by Baron Steuben, Nov. 22, 1780. 

333. Letter by Abigail Adams, wife of President John Adams, 
1800. 

334. Autograph resolutions of J. O. Adams, which resulted in 
the War of 1812 with England. 

335. Proposal of Alexander French, to bring flax workmen to 
America, to a Committee of his Majesty's Council, 1680. 

336. Letter of James Smith, signer of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, dated April 26, 1771. 

337. Pass for Indians and their victuals from Biddeford, Maine, 
to Cape Ann, by Gen. Elwell, 1754- 

338. Document of Lord Culpepper, Governor of Colony of 
Virginia, 1682. 

339. Letter of Jethro Sumner, a general in the Revolution, to 
Gen. Washington, April 18, 1784. 

340. Log book of the frigate Constitution's cruise in 1812. 

341. Advertisement of line of stages between York, Lancaster 
and Philadelphia, 1815. 

342. Letter of Sally Lee, wife of Gen. Lee, April 14, 1788. 

343. Conveyance of land by Thomas Lee, in the name of the 
Hon. Cath. Lady Fairfax, sole proprietor of the Northern Neck 
of Virginia, 17 16, 



308 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

344. List of invalid pensioners belonging to the State of New 
York, March, 1796. 

345. List of invalid pensioners belonging to the State of 
Connecticut, September, 1795. 

346. Letter by widow of Gen. R. Montgomery. 

347. Inventory and appraisement of negroes, 1732. 

348. Instructions to Maj. Merriweather by Maj. Gen. Lord 
Sterling, 1779. 

349. Returns of a company of militia, County of Essex, Second 
Regiment of Massachusetts, 1776. 

350. Letter of Ira Allen, Vermont Council of Safety, written at 
Bennington, 1777. 

351. Original manuscript speech of John Randolph of Roan- 
oke, in Congress, 1820. 

352. Leaf from manuscript copy of Baron Steuben's military 
treaty. 

353. Letter of Francis Asbury, first Methodist bishop in Amer- 
ica, Jan. 8, 1787. 

354. Letter by Edward Shippen to Gov. John Penn of Penn- 
sylvania, Lancaster, Dec. 14, 1763. 

355. Bill against Province of Massachusetts for mending uten- 
sils and locks on guns for troops under command of Capt. Williams, 
certified to by Ebenezer Pomroy, 1749. 

356. Constitution of the New Jersey Society for the promoting 
of abolition of slaveiy, printed by Isaac Neale, 1793. 

357. Notice of meeting of the Maryland Abolition Society, 
signed by Joseph Townsend, Secretary, July 2, 1793. 

358. Letter of Samuel Johnson, D. D., first convert to Epis- 
copacy in the Colony of Connecticut, afterward president of King's 
College, Jan. 2, 1747. 

359. Pass by Gen. Howe, signed by Rail of the Hessian Army^ 

360. Autograph letter of the Rev. James Murray, father of 
Universalists, July 7, 1784. 

361. Order by Brig. Gen. Enoch Poor to keep a soldier in gaol 
April 9, 1779. 

362. Letter by George Wythe, signer of the Declaration of 
Independence, June n, 1774. 

363. Certificate of Paul Revere, Lt.-Col., Castle Island, Dec. 31, 

I75I- 

364. Order signed by Gen. Moultrie, Charleston, Dec. 21, 1785. 

365. Commission by Gov. George Clinton, 17S3. 

366. Assurance policy, 1795. 

367. Bill for services, by Gen. Jolui Sullivan, 1785. 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 307 

368. Letter of Gen. Thomas Gage, Jan. 13, 1766. 

369. Check on bank, signed by Baron Steuben, Aug. 6, 1791. 

370. Order of Lord Sterling, 1778. 

371. Bill of purchases for the Continental army, June 5, 1782. 

372. Commission by John Hancock to Adam Ott, First Lieut., 
March 24, 1777. 

373. Order for goods, signed by Thomas Jefferson, Sept. 13, 
1780. 

374. Letter of William Bradford, May 25, 1779. 

375. Autograph document signed by John Winthrop, second 
governor of Massachusetts Colony. 

376. Autograph document signed by R. Wolcolt, Governor of 
Connecticut, May 17, 17 18. 

377. Autograph document signed by John Endecott, Governor 
of Massachusetts, 1655 (Mayflower). 

378. Document signed by Gov. Edward Winslow, Plymouth 
Colony, 1643. 

379. Document signed by William Pomfrett, Massachusetts, 

1657. 

380. Document of Cecil Calvert, first Lord Baltimore, proprie- 
tor of Maryland, 1649. 

381. Document of Massachusetts Bay Colony, signed F. Bree- 
den and Edward Rawson, 1662. 

382. Letter of Benedict Arnold, Sr., Newport, 1673. 

383. Letter of Isaac Allerton, one of the Mayflower Pilgrims 
and signer of the compact, 1653. 

384. Letter of Roger Williams, first settler of Rhode Island, 
1658. 

385. Pay and muster roll of field and staff officers commanded 
by Col. Jacob Gerrish, Dec. 2, 1778. 

386. Muster roll of a detachment of militia commanded by 
Capt. Nathaniel Sage, army of Gen. Burgoyne, April 2, 1778. 

387. Manuscript sermon of the Rev. Mr. Bean, Wentham, 
Mass., 1766. 

388. King George's instructions to E. and R. Penn, 1753. 

389. Official document signed by Gayoso, Spanish Governor 
of Louisiana, at Natchez, Feb. 8, 1797. 

390. Official document signed by Walpole, 1777, for transport- 
ing criminals to America. 

391. Letter, Horatio Gates, Jan. 31, 1777. 

392. Resolutions of Continental Congress in autograph and 
signed by Charles Thompson, Sept. 4, 1777. 

393. Original music, written by Gen. Wolfe, 



308 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

394. Resolutions of House of Representatives of Massachu- 
setts Bay, signed by Joseph Warren, March 17, 1777. 

395. Resolutions of Congress, Feb. 20, 1781, in regard to com- 
position of the Southern Army, signed by Geo. Bind, department 
secretary. 

396. Original MSS. speech by John Randolph. 

397. Letter of Benjamin Franklin from Passy, France, No- 
vember 30, 1780. 

398. Original poem on death of Joseph Schemmel, who fell 
at capture of Yorktown. 

399. Original report of killed and wounded on the field of 
battle of To-ho-peka, army of Andrew Jackson, March 27, 1814. 

400. Document signed by Caesar Rodney, Dover, N. H., 
April 17, 1778, signer Declaration of Independence. 

401. Square metal plate representing the signing of the Dec- 
laration of Independence. 

402. Original water color portrait of Washington. 

403. Certificate of admission to society of the Cincinnati, 
signed by Washington. 

404. Music performed (original program) on death of Wash- 
ington, at St. Paul's Church, New York, Dec. 31, 1799. 

405. Original autograph and portrait of French artist, Houdon, 
who made sketch of Washington. 

406. Original letter of William Short, first man who re- 
ceived a commission from United States by Washington. 

407. Letter of Col. Innes, giving details of battle of Great 
Meadow, Winchester, July 12, 1754. 

408 Inspection return of music in the army under Gen. 
Washington, West Point, 1782. 

409. Letter of Mary L. Custis, 1827. 

410. Letter of Lord Fairfax, April 25, 1772. 

411. Letter of Eliza Fairfax, wife of Lord Fairfax. 

412. Letter of Eliza Tillman, with whom Washington boarded 
in Valley Forge, dated April 21, 1757. 

413. Letter of Martha Washington, July i, 1792. 

414. Letter of Betty Lewis, Washington's sister, April 19, 1792. 

415. Original returns, capitulation of Hessians at battle of 
Trenton, dated Philadelphia, Jan. 6, 1777. 

416. Letter of Daniel Park Custis, first husband of Martha 
Washington, Jan. 16, 1756. 

417. Original account current by Washington to George 
W. Fairfax, March 14, 1775, to March 17, 1786. 

418. Survey of land by Washington, April 8, 1751. 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION 808 

419. Letter of Fielding Lewis, brother-in-law of Washington. 

420. Letter of Washington, Middlebrook, Dec. 17, 1778. 

421. Order of discharge of John Cogden, signed by George 
Washington, June 8, 1783. 

422. Letter of Washington, headquarters Valley Forge, March 
20, 1778. 

423. Order, dated Valley Forge, March 9, 1778, signed by 
Washington as Commander in Chief. 

424. Piece of Washington's copy book, when twelve years old. 

425. Letter of Mary Washington, mother of George Wash- 
ington. 

426. Manuscript of Augustine Washington, father of George 
Washington. 

427. Letter of George Washington, Williamsburg, Nov. 20 
1772. 

428. Letter of George Washington, Middlebrook, May 13, 1779. 

429. Original manuscript book belonging to John Custis, 
father of Daniel Park Custis. 

430. Letter of Daniel Park Custis, giving his son, D. P. Custis, 
permission to marry. 

431. Miniature portrait of George Washington. 

432. Letter of Martha Washington, Dec. 18, 1761. 

433. Autograph of Washington's ancestor in England, in an 
old book. 

434. Directory of Philadelphia, 1796, giving Washington's 
occupation as President of the United States, and his address. 

435. Lock of George Washington's hair in a gold locket. 

436. First engraved portrait of George Washington. 

437. Letter of Valley Forge, March 7, 1778. 

438. Letter of George Washington to Maiy Stockton, thanking 
her for recipe for colic for Mary Washington. 

439. Receipt of Martha Washington for her annuity. 

440. Original returns of British prisoners at Yorktown. 

441. First patent issued by the government of the LTnited 
States, signed by George Washington. 

442. First Thanksgiving proclamation by George Washington. 

443. Letters of George Washington, Mt. Vernon, Aug. 5, 1798; 
Philadelphia, March i, 1796, and Valley Forge Headquarters, April 
6, 1778. 

444. Ulster County Gazette in mourning on account of the death 
of George Washington, published Boston, Jan. 6, 1800, with order 
of funeral procession. 



310 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

445. Letters of George Washington: Mt. Vernon, June 25, 
1786, March 26, 1778; Philadelphia, Nov. i, 1795; Mt. Vernon, Dec. 
2, 1799, Sept. 28, 179s, Oct. 22, 1798. 

446. Original order to establish the first mint in the United 
States, signed by Charles Thomson, Secretary Continental Con- 
gress. 

447. Desk made for Washington, 1779. 

448. Oil portrait of Gen. Jackson, from life. 

449. Chair from the Hall of Independence. 

450. Pewter plates from Washington's estate at Mount Vernon. 

451. Letter of the famous Polish Count Pulaski, who fell at 
Savannah, dated May, 1778. 

452. Letter of William Pepperell, July 21, 1743. 

453. Proclamation of Horatio Sharp, Esq., Governor and Com- 
mander-in-Chief in and over the Province of Maryland, April, 6, 
17C0. 

454. Order of Gen. Fitzbourne, division order on the Hudson, 
just before Arnold's treachery, dated New Bridge, July 21, 1780. 

455. Pitchfork of Gen. Putnam. 



456 

457 
458. 

459 
460 
461 



Warming bed pan of Gov. Shirley. 

Three colonial umbrellas. 

Continental uniforms. 

Pewter plates once owned by Gen. Burgoyne. 

Sword of Col. Prescott. 

Cannon balls from Bunker Hill. 



LOANED BY MR. CHARLES SPEATH. 

462. Framed collection of 150 miniature portraits of Gen. 
Washington and Mrs. Martha Washington, engraved during the 
Revolutionary period and since. 

463. Framed portraits of President Washington and Mrs. Mar- 
tha Washington, in original frames, 1789. 

464. Military order bearing Washington's signature, dated 
New York, July 21, 1776. 

465. Lottery ticket signed by George Washington. 

466. Washington buttons worn by citizens at time of inaugu- 
ration, 1789. 

467. Uncut copy of the oration delivered on the death of Wash- 
ington, by Gen. Lee, year 1800. 

468. Copy of Washington's Funeral Ode, i and 2, sung at Old 
South Church, Boston, Mass., Feb. 8, 1800. 

469. Washington medals, made by Eccleston, Westwood and 
other artists of one hundred years ago. 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 811 

470. Silk badges worn in 1832, at centennial of Washington's 
birthday. 

471. Silk badges of Washington, worn at different periods. 

472. Collection of Continental monej'. 

473. Colony tax stamps of 1765. 

474. Collection of English and German almanacs, embracing 
dates from 1760 to the year 1800. 

475. Commission to Jonathan Trumbull, Jr., signed by John 
Hancock, with very rare old portrait of Hancock, 1775. 

476. Old newspapers: Pennsylvania Chronicle, July 13, 1767^ 
Massachusetts ^v, May 20, 1773^ Norwich Packet, Aug. 25, 1774/ 
Columbian Sentinel, June 17, 1799. 

477. Scarce copy of the Pennsylvania Intelligencer and Advertiser, 
of Sept. 19, 1787, containing first publication of the Constitution of 
the United States as framed by committee of which Gen. Wash- 
ington was chairman. 

478. A document signed by Benjamin Franklin, Philadelphia, 
Sept. 29, 1778, with portrait. 

479. Dinner invitation, signed by Thomas Jefferson. 

480. Receipt for gunpowder, by Josiah Bartlett (signer of Dec- 
laration), May 17, 1777. 

481. Power of attorney, signed by Robert Morris, Feb. 7, 1793. 

482. Letter of Gen. Drake, Aug. 3, 1779, to Gov. Clinton, rela- 
tive to seizing stock of those who joined the enemy. 

483. Letter of Col. Shaw, author of the Order of Cincinnati, 
relative to bearskins presented by Mr. Rensselaer of Albany to 
army officers, Nov. 21, 1779. 

484. Business letter of Peter Stuyvesant, Feb. 23, 1790. 

485. Letter of Alexander Hamilton to Gen. Lee, dated Sept. 
i.3i i77o> relative to promotion. 

486. Letter of Aaron Burr, dated Dec. 6, 1796, 

487. Army order, by Gen. Green to Maj. Harry Lee, July 12, 
1780. 

488. Letter of Edmund Randolph to Charles Lee, German- 
town, Aug. 28, 1793, relative to yellow fever epidemic at his home 
in Virginia. 

489. German letter by Rev. John Christ, Gobbrecht, March i, 
1765, to his son Johannes, in Germantown, Pa. 

490. Pass from the Continental Congress, signed by Samuel 
Huntington, president, for Mrs. John Hunt, dated April 7, 1780. 

491. Case of drawing instruments, used in Germantown, Pa., 
over one hundred years ago. 



312 CHICAGO- S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

492. Small sun-dial, set in a cube of wood, from Germantown, 
Pa., 150 years old. 

493. Pocket-books made and used in 1783. 

494. Cash-boxes, from Holland, brought to this country by 
Van Schaack over 200 years ago. 

495. Horn spoon, from Boston, used by Miss McClutch (spin- 
ster), 1786. 

496. Photograph home of Washington's ancestors, in England. 

497. Pair of old scissors from Virginia, 1783. 

498. Virginia army blanket-pin, Revolutionary War, 1776. 

499. Virginia trinket-box, 1783. 

500. Grape-shot balls, from old Fort Williams, New York, 
plowed up in 1790. 

501. Embossed medal, obverse portraits of all the signers of 
the Declaration of Independence; reverse. Declaration in full. 

502. Medallion locket, containing very small portraits of the 
signers of the Declaration. 

503. Washington medal, smallest specimen ever made. 

504. Thomas Jefferson's last letter, printed on silk. 

505. Medicine pouches, of Blackfoot Indians, made in 1777. 

LOANED BY THE REV. FRANK M. BRISTOL, D. D. 

506. Autograph letter of Martha Washington announcing the 
death of Mrs. Tobias Lear. 

507. Autograph letter of Tobias Lear mentioning the President. 

508. Deed of Virg'nia land, signed by Thos. Lord Fairfax, 1754. 

509. Autograph letter of Miss Francis Bassett. 

510. Gossips about the Washingtons and Custises at Mount 
Vernon. 

511. Book, Cicero's "Cato Major," printed by Benjamin 
Franklin, Philadelphia, 1744. 

512. Book from the library of George III. 

513. Original manuscript from Irving's "Life of Washington," 
framed with portrait. 

514. Warrant of arrest for trespass in Fairfax County, Va., 
time of George II. 

515. Autograph letter of Charles James Fox. 

516. Autograph letter of Richard Brinsley Sheridan. 

517. Document signed by William Pitt and George III. 1789. 

518. Book, "the Code of 1650," Blue Laws, 1822. 

519. Page from old account book, with account of Abraham 
Lincoln of Pa., for "tody, etc.," 1789. 

520. Autograph note of President Thomas Jefferson calling a 
Cabinet meeting, 1808; framed. 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 313 

521. Account of Dr. John Knowles with George A. Washing- 
ton, mentions Gen. Washington, 1789. 

522. Autograph letter of Gen. Arthur St. Clair, with portrait 
framed. 

523. Several long petitions to Gov. Mifflin from the alarmed 
inhabitants of the frontier of Pennsylvania, after the defeat of 
St. Clair by the Indians, 1792. 

524. Order to pay money and guns to Indians, signed by 
William Allen, Thomas Willing, Hugh Crawford and many Indians, 
1767; framed. 

525. Autograph letters of the Quaker preacher, Nicholas Wain. 

526. Autograph letter of Phineas Pemberton, an early Quaker; 
came with William Penn, 1697. 

527. Autograph letter of Israel Pemberton, when a boy, 1697. 

528. Draft on William Penn, by William East, 1682. 

529. Autograph letter of David Lloyd, signed also by Isaac 
Norris, 1701. 

530. Book presented to John Dickinson by Bishop Asbury, 
with autograph of Dickinson. 

531. Certificate written by L. Weiss, government interpreter, 

1763- 

532. Autograph letter of Robert Edward Tell, agent for the 
Penns. 

533. Letter of the Rev. Richard Peters, announcing his ascerting 
the new Governor of Pennsylvania, Denny, to Philadelphia, 1744. 

534. Very rare old English manuscript collection of poems, 
written about 1660, containing an " Elegie on the death of Mr. 
Washington, page to Pr. Charles, who died in Spayne." 

535. Collection of Continental money; framed. 

536. Poem, " Gen. Washington, with some remarks on Jeffer- 
sonian Policy," 1801; framed with si.\ portraits of Washington. 

537. Document signed by George III.; portrait framed. 

538. Circular letter signed by James Madison, 1807. 

539. Autograph letter of Gen. John Armstrong, signer of the 
Constitution, 178S. 

540. Document signed by Charles Thomson, who, as secretary, 
carried to Washington the announcement of his election to the 
Presidency. 

541. Letter signed by Robert Morris, signer of the Declaration 
of Independence, 1776. 

542. Document signed by Arthur St. Clair before the Revo- 
lution. 



314 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

543. Autograph letter of Gen. Henry Lee ("Light Horse 
Harry "). 

544. Autograph letter of Gen. William Eaton, 1800. 

545. Autograph letter of Gen. Henry Dearborn, 1800. 

546. Document signed by Gen. Elias Dayton. 

547. Document signed by Gen. James Troine. 
54S. Letter of Timothy Pickering, 1796. 

549. Money order from Fort Charters and Kaskaskia, signed 
by Thomas Hutchins and others, 1769. 

550. Book of Dr. Richard Price, "Observations on the Impor 
tance of the American Revolution," 1785. 

551. Book of a German almanac with engravings of scenes in 
the Revolution, 1784. 

552. Indenture, with several signatures and red seals, Phila- 
delphia, 1750. 



APPENDIX 



THE COMMITTEES 



APPENDIX 



THE COMMITTEES 



GENERAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 



S. W. Allerton, Chairman, 

E. F. Cragin, Secretary, 

A. C Bartlett, 

J. Y. Scammon, 

H. N. Higginbotham, 

J. W. Ellsworth, 

R. S. Tuthill, 

G. Schneider, 

J. McGregor Adams, 

E. G. Keith, 
R. E. Jenkins, 

C. L. Hutchinson, 
H. S. Boutell, 

F. H. Head, 
John A. Roche, 
J. S. Grinnell, 
William Vocke, 
P. A. Sundelius, 
J. Rosenthal, 

J. Anderson, 
C. R. Matson, 
H. L. Hertz, 
W. B. Sullivan, 
John Ginocchio, 
A. Mastrovalerio, 
S. Costikyan, 
T. Schintz, 
J. J. Schobinger, 



L. G. Wheeler, 
T. W. Henderson, 

E. G. Hirsch, 
A. Kirkland, 

F. A. Brokoski, 
W. Kasper, 

A. Kraus, 
Griffith Griffiths, 
George Birkhoff, Jr., 
J. H. Barrows, 
W. H. Busbey, 
George Driggs, 
H. B. Hurd, 
Joseph Medill, 
J. A. Sexton, 
Graeme Stewart, 
A. G. Lane, 
Milward Adams, 
Herman Raster, 
Richard Michaelis, 
J. F. Ballantyne, 
W. K. Sullivan, 
M. J. Russell, 
J. R. Walsh, 
H. F. Boynton, 
Robert Clark, 

G. F. Bissell, 
W. H. Hubbard, 



318 



CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 



GENERAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE — CONTINUED. 



\V. H. Wood, 
Peter Kiolbassa, 
P. S. Peterson, 

C. F. Goss, 

D. F. Bremner, 
W. A. Angell, 

W. P. Henneberry, 
\V. L. B. Jenney, 
J. Frank Aldricli, 
H. N. Hubbard, 

E. F. Chapin, 
W. Miles, 

S. D. Kimbark, 
J. M. Larimer, 
J. W. Scott, 
E. C. Delano, 
Victor F. Lawson, 
Clarence I. Peck, 



T. B. Bryan, 
I. P. Rumsey, 
E. F. Getchel, 
William Saunders, 
Frederick Ullman, 
Joseph Chalifoux, 
Richard Prendergast, 
Andrew Wallace, 
R. C. Givens, 
H. M. Kingman, 
A. H. Revell, 
C. F. Gunther, 
A. G. Spalding, 
C. B. Whitney, 
J. H. Johnson, 
Murry Nelson, 
A. Peterson, 
S. Walton. 



FINANCE COMMITTEE. 



S. W. Allerton, Chairman, 

J. B. Drake, 

F. W. Peck, 

J. Irving Pearce, 

O. W. Potter, 

J. G. McCullen. 

Louis Wampold, 

P. H. Armour, 

George Schneider, 

Nelson Morris, 

Byron L. Smith, 

C. R. Cummings, 

E. S. Dryer, 

H. H. Kohlsaal, 

H. A. Haugan, 

Potter Palmer, 

J. L. Woodward, 

William Stewart, 

Jesse Spaulding, 



Andrew Cummings, 
P. Studebaker, 
W. A. Fuller, 

F. C. Kimball, 
T. D. Randall, 

G. H. Webster, 
H. M. Kinsley, 
J. J. Parkhurst, 
F. Madlener, 

J. Ginocchio, 
A. N. Reece, 
Edson Keith, 
J. McG. Adams, 
George Miller, 
P. J. Hennessy, 
J. A. Kirk, 
Joseph G. Peters, 
Charles Schwab, 
C. H. Cutter, 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGUKATION. 



319 



M. T. Green, 

D. A. Kohn, 
A. C. McClurg, 
John Black, 
Robert Law, 
C. E. Maxwell, 
W. H. Kellogg, 
G. T. Burroughs, 
W. P. Rend, 
A. Peterson, 
R. A. Keyes, 
\V. C. Seipp, 
C. H. Wacker, 
J. H. McAvoy, 

E. S. Pike, 
Leopold Bloom, 
Marvin Hughitt, 
E. A. Cummings, 
M. C. Eames, 
C. J. Singer, 
N. B. Ream, 
W. D. Kerfoot, 
C. W. Drew, 
C. B. Holmes, 
O. W. Barrett, 



FINANCE COMMITTEE— CONTINUED. 

F. H. Winston, 
Marshall Field, 
R. R. Cable, 
R. Scott, 
H. H. Porter, 
Albert Hayden, 
Sidney Kent, 

B. F. Gardner, 

C. M. Henderson, 
J. W. Nye, 
H. J. McFarland, 
J. H. Bradley, 
George M. Pullman, 
L. Wolf, 
F. G. Logan, 
M. E. Page, 
J. C. Neemes, 
William Deering, 
John C. Black, 
M. C. Hickey, 
R. B. Wardmell, 
E. B. Gould, 
W. S. Gilbert, 
C. O. Francis, 
Seymour Walton. 



FINANCE SUB-COMMITTEES. 

Coal Dealers — Robert Law, W. P. Rend. 

Wholesale Grocers — Franklin MacVeagh, J. W. Doane, R. A. 
Keyes. 

Millinery — Edson Keith, D. B. Fisk. 

Clothing — D. Cohn, C. L. Willoughby, L. Wampold, Charles 
P. Kellogg. 

Theatres — J. A. Hamlin, W. J. Davis, R. M. Hooley. 

Insurance — F. S. James, R. A. Waller, R. S. Critchell. 

Architects — Dankmar Adler. 

B.\K.ERs (wholesale) — W. W. Shaw, D. F. Breir.ner, Henry Evans. 

Cornice Manufacturers — James A. Miller. 

Carriage ^L^NUFACTURERS — Peter Studebaker, F. C. Kimball. 

China and Glassware — Pitkin & Brooks. 



320 CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

FINANCE SUB-COMMITTEES — CONTINUED. 

Candy Makers (retail) — C. F. Gunther. 

Candy Makers (wholesale) — M. E. Page. 

Capitalists — H. S. Vail. 

Dry Goods (retail) — E. J. Lehman. 

Florists — J. C. Vaughn. 

Furniture — Andrew F. Johnson, J. S. Ford, Francis B. Tobey. 

Iron Founders — J. M. Larimer. 

Jewelers — J. B. Mayo, Elmer Rich. 

Banks and Bankers — George Schneider, E. S. Dreyer. 

Board of Trade — C. J. Singer, F. G. Logan. 

Lumber Dealers — Jesse Spaulding, A. G. Van Schaack. 

Hotels — J. Irving Pearce, H. H. Kohlsaat, Andrew Cummings, 
Warren F. Leland. 

Commission Merchants — T. D. Randall, J. H. Barnett, George 
C. Scales, A. M. Thacker, R. A. Burnett. 

Dry Goods — J. K. Harmon. 

Real Estate — W. D. Kerfoot, E. A. Cummings. 

Hardware — A. F. Seeberger, D. Kelly. 

Manufacturers — L. Wolf. 

Planing Mills — Frost Manufacturing Company. 

Railway Supplies — George M. Sargent, William J. Watson, 
Mr. Ettinger, William Wilson. 

Paints and Oils — C. H. Cutler. 

Undertakers — C. H. Jordan, J. J. Healy. 

National Offices — W. C. Newberry. 

County Offices — C. R. Matson, H. L. Hertz. 

City Offices — Arthur Dixon, John Summerfield, E. F. Cul- 
lerton. 

Seedsmen — Albert Dickinson. 

Street Railways — F. S. Winston. 

Patriotic Order Sons America — A. Dickerson. 

Laundries — G. M. Munger & Co. 

Lawyers — William E. Page, Frank Collier, William B. Sullivan. 

Merchant Tailors — R. J. Walsh, Henry Turner. 

Meat Markets — John Ford, Easland & Duddleston. 

Musical Instruments — A. C. Camp, G. W. Lyon. 

Printers— F. P. Elliott, J. M. W. Jones, W. P. Henneberry, 
Charles J. Stromberg, John Morris. 

Roofing — M. W. Powell. 



OF WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION. 



821 



FINANCE SUB-COMMITTEES — CONTINUED. 

Rubber— VV. D. Allen. 

Stationery — E. E. Maxwell, A. C. McClurg. 

Grocers (retail) — C. Jevne, C. H. Slack, Fred D. Rockwood, 

C. H. Tebbets. 

Boots and Shoes — John J. Harkins, J. M. Jessen, J. C. Graham, 
Robert Neely, A. Donant, M. S. Varley, A. M. Nelson, George 
Welhaus, J. M. Johnson, Smythe Crooks, A. J. Weeks, R. 15. 
Haaker, Henry Brandt, S. Johnson, S. Youngquist. C. E. Wiswall, 

D. L. Streeter, H. C. Smith, F. T. Chiniquy, N. Loeb, N. Bermerle, 
I. L. Klein, George S. Bullock. 



committee on audience. 



D. F. Bremner, 
William B. Sullivan, 
H. N. Higginbotham, 
R. A. Keyes, 

J. A. Sexton, 
W. S. Brackett, 

E. B. Knox, 

L. G. Wheeler, 
Charles Fitzsimmons, 
E. P. Jones, 
Victor Gerardin, 
D. H. Williams, 
J. Chalifoux, 
L. Hesselroth, 



John Giiiocchio, 

F. Khout, 

C. F. Korseil, 
M. J. Russell, 
E. Nelson Blake, 

G. B. Swift, 

H. P. Thompson, 
Max Stern, 
H. L. Hertz, 
P. S. Peterson, 
W. P. Rend, 
I. A. Enander, 
C. J. Sundeli, 
S. W. Ingraham. 



E. G. Keith, 
W. C. Newberry, 
C. R. Matson, 
John Anderson, 
E. G. Hirsch, 
Willard Woodard, 
Frank H. Collier, 
Victor Lassagne, 
L. G. Wheeler, 
William Kaspar, 
Peter Kiolbassa, 



committee on organization. 

H. T. Weeks, 
W. C. Seipp, 
R. W. Patterson, 
John R. Walsh, 
W. Penn Nixon, 
R. Michaelis, 
Victor F. Lawson, 
W. K. Sullivan, 
F. B. Wilkie, 
P. O. Stensland, 
F. B. Zdrubek, 



322 



CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 



COMMITTEE ON ORG 

T. V. Matejka, 
Washington Hesing, 
A. Mastrovalerio, 
David Swinjj, 
T. N. Morrison, 
H. W. Bolton, 
J. Lloyd Jones, 
Slason Thompson, 
C. G. Lindborg, 



ANIZATION CONTINUED. 

H. W. Thomas, 

G. C. Lorimer, 

S. J. McPherson, 

F. A. Noble, 

F. A. Lindstrand, 

J. H. Burke, 

W. P. Henneberry, 

H. A. Wheeler. 



J. W. Ellsworth, 
W. V. Jacobs, 
J. H. Dole, 
J. Irving Pearce, 
R. M. Hooley, 



COMMITTEE ON HAELS. 

David Henderson, 
Milvvard Adams, 
J. H. McVicker, 
J. V. Farwell, Jr., 
T. W. Hai-vey. 



CO.MMITTEE 

Graeme Stewart, 
Louis Nettlehorst, 
Ferd W. Peck, 
J. W. Fernald, 
Mrs. E. Mitchell, 
Mrs. E. F. Young, 
Miss Lizzie L. Hartney, 
Frank Mitchell, 
J. R. Doolittle, 

D. F. Bremner, 
W. G. Beale, 
M. B. Hereley, 
C. Kozminski, 

E. C. Delano, 
John McLaren, 
T. Brenan, 

C. J. Sundell, 

F. Wenter, 
A. G. Lane, 

CENTENNIAI 

Victor F*. Lawson, 
Victor Lassagne, 



ON SCHOOL CELEBRATION. 

W. J, Onahan, 

E. F. Dunne, 
J. W. Goudy, 

F. E. llalligan, 
J. C. Burroughs, 
A. R. Sabin, 
George Driggs, 
Norman Williams, 
C. B. Holmes, 
George Howland, 
Fred W. Forch, Jr., 
F. VV. Parker, 

U. S. Baker, 
Leslie Lewis, 
W. H. Ray, 
H. L. Boltvvood, 
O. T. Bright, 
M. W. Robinson. 

, SOUVENIR EOR ClULDKEN. 

C. I. Peck. 



OF WASHIXGTOM'S Ih'AUGVKATION. 



333 



COMMITT 

S. D. Kimbark, 
J. W. Larimer, 
H. J. McFarland, 
G. F. R. Dodge, 
Peter Van Schaack, 
John A. King, 
Ezra T. Warner, 
W. Moseback, 
Levi Bane, 
C. L. Willoughby, 
J. G. Williams, 
J. H. Walker, 
John Ailing, 
}. W. Nye, 

E. L. Maxwell, 
J. B. Mayo, 
Paul Morton, 

J. C. McMullen, 
W. H. Wttherell, 
C. F. Shaw, 
P. L. LTnderwood, 
John Cudahy, 

J. J. Schobinger, 
T. W. Henderson, 
William Vocke, 
W. L. Tomlins, 
S. D. Pratt, 

F. W. Root, 
Franz Amberg, 
Hans Balatka, 
J. Vilim, 

(t. F. Root, 
W. Miles, 

COirMITTEE 

W. L. P. Jenney, 
Joseph Stockton, 
George Mason, 
C. F. Gunther, 



EE ON SUSPENSION OF BUSINESS. 

J. H. Hamline, 
M. C. Bullock, 
W. H. Fuller, 
Edson Keith, 
J. Harley Bradley, 
O. H. Horton, 
J. H. Harmon, 
J. H. McAvoy, 
Arthur Dixon, 
J. G. McWilliams, 
E. F. Cullerton, 
Joseph Ernst, 
C. H. Tebbets, 
C. Jevne, 
G. M. Porter, 
E. F. Heywood, 
G. M. Grannis, 
F P. Roach, 
M. J. Helm, 
Stephen Mann, 
Thomas Collins, 
Fred Rockford. 

COMMITTEE ON MUSIC. 

J. Wegman, 
J. L. Swenson, 
J. W. Coberg, 
J. Nettlehorst, 
T. Elberg, 
E. DeCamp, 
R. C. Halle, 
P. A. Otis, 
G. C. Lorimer, 
E. G. Newell. 

ON DECORATIONS, MOTTOES, ETC. 

W. Best, 

G. B. Carpenter, 

A. L. Coe, 

A, H. Revell, 



CHICAGO'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 



COMMITTEE ON DECORATIONS, MOTTOES, ETC. — CONTINUED. 

I. K. Boyeson, John A. Jamieson, 

W. F. Poole, Thomas A. Banning, 

F. M. Bristol, J. York, 

F. W. Gunsaulus, Thomas Robinson, 

W. E. Stockton, P. S. Peterson, 

T. S. Cunningham, J. A. Pettigrew, 

C. D. Roys, C. McArthur, 

L. S. Blackvvelder, M. W. White. 

COMMITTEE ON OUTSIDE DECORATIONS. 

A. G. Spalding, Marshall Field & Co., 

C. B. Whitney, Willoughby, Hill & Co. 
E. J. Lehman & Co., 



COMMITTEE ON PYROTECHNICS. 



George M. Pullman, 
Richard Waterman, 
C. K. Billings, 
E. W. Brooks, 
C. C. Lake, 
\. P. Rumsey, 
E. A. Hamill, 



H. M. Bacon, 
E. F. Getchell, 
C. W. Drew, 
E. F. Bayley, 
Joseph Stockton, 
Charles Fitzsimmons, 
W. J. Wilson. 



C. F. Gunther, 
F. M. Bristol, 
J. B. Jeffery, 
I. N. Camp, 



COMMITTEE ON LOAN EXHIBITION. 

J. B. Smith, 
Potter Palmer, 
Solomon Thatcher, Jr., 
Sydney C. Eastman, 



George C. Prussing, 



C. R. Vandercook. 



COMMITTEE ON OBSERVANCE OF THE DAY THROUGHOUT THE 
NORTHWEST. 

W. C. Newberry, 
Gwynn Garnett, 
Jesse Spaulding, 
Moses Wentworth, 
I. N. Stiles, 
Henry C. Prevost, 
Curtis H. Remy, 
Charles T. Trego, 
Moses D. Wells, 



Thomas B. Bryan, 
E. B. Sherman, 
A. H. Terry, 
Lyman Trumbull, 
L. L. Bond, 
J. P. Runnels, 
J. B. Bradwell, 
Julius White, 
A. C. Ducat, 



OF WASHINGTON" S I.VA UGH KA TION. 



325 



COMMITTEE ON' OBSERVAN 
NORTHW 

W. A. Douglass, 
J. H. Hobbs, 
b. W. Irwin, 
Charles E. Judson, 
O. R. Keith, 
E. F. Getchell, 
J. B. Kirk, 
George S. Lord, 
O. W. Meysenburg, 
J. J. Mitchell, 
P. S. Montgomery, 
Henry Field, 
William A. Fuller, 
Amos Grannis, 
William E. Hale, 
Charles D. Hamill, 
David G. Hamilton, 
Charles Counselman, 
N. K. Fairbank, 
Marcus A. Farwell, 



CE OF THE DAY THROUGHOUT THE 
EST — CONTINUED. 

John V. Farwell, 
Charles H. Fargo, 
O. W. Barrett, 
Chauncey I. Blair, 
John T. Chumasero, 
Silas M. Moore, 
W. K. Nixon, 
Edward A. Packard, 

C. H. Case, 

J. S. Gadsden, 
William Warren 
R. J. Smith, 
S. S. Gregory, 
W. J. Onahan, 

D. C. Osman, 
Thomas Templeton, 
Alexander Sullivan, 
Hempstead Washburne, 
Frank A. Riddle, 
George P. Smith. 



COMMITTEE ON SOUVENIR VOLUME. 



John F. Ballantyne, 
Lloyd G. Wheeler 
S. W. AUerton, 
E. F. Cragin, 



F. M. Bristol, 
J. H. Barrows, 
William Vocke, 
Thomas B. Bryan. 



fo 



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L.. 



3J 



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